Early versus delayed inguinal hernia repair in preterm infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BackgroundWe aimed to perform a systematic review and updated meta-analysis evaluating the optimal timing for repairing inguinal hernia in preterm infants.MethodsCochrane Central, Embase, and PubMed were searched from inception to April 2024 for studies comparing early versus delayed repair of inguinal hernia in preterm infants, without applying filters or language limitations. We utilized the RStudio version 4.2.2 to compute risk ratios with random effects for our prespecified outcomes.ResultsIn our study, which encompassed 1207 patients from eight studies, 676 (56%) preterm patients underwent early repair for inguinal hernia. Although we found no significant association between early repair and incarceration (risk ratio, 1.14; 95% Confidence Intervals, 0.76-1.70; p = 0.52; I² = 19%), there was an increased risk of recurrence with early repair in comparison with delayed management (risk ratio, 3.11; 95% Confidence Intervals, 1.17-8.25; p = 0.02; I² = 0%).ConclusionOur findings suggest postponing the repair of inguinal hernia in preterm infants until after hospitalization to avoid the potential increased risk of recurrence and respiratory complications associated with early repair.