The use of a peritoneal gas drain following gynecological laparoscopy: a systematic review.

We performed a systematic review of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting on the use of a peritoneal gas drain following gynecological laparoscopy. The standard medical databases were searched for studies published prior to with no restrictions for language, country of origin, blinding or sample size. We defined the primary endpoints: shoulder and total pain at 4-6, 24 and 48h following laparoscopy and secondary endpoints: women satisfaction, requirement of analgesia and antiemetics. The quality of the included RCTs was assessed by the guideline of the Cochrane Collaboration. Based on the data from 5 moderate quality RCTs we concluded that there is very little evidence of an overall benefit from using a peritoneal gas drain following gynecological laparoscopy The possible reduction of shoulder and total pain is not associated with a reduction in the requirement of analgesia and antiemetics when compared to the control group.