Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery (한국간담췌외과학회지)

The Korean Association of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery (한국간담췌외과학회)
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Gallbladder-associated hospital admission and cholecystectomy rates across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (2004-2019): Are we over-intervening?

  • Taha Mollah (Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne) ;
  • Harry Christie (Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne) ;
  • Marc Chia (Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne) ;
  • Prasenjit Modak (Department of Surgery, Swan Hill Hospital) ;
  • Kaushik Joshi (Department of Surgery, Swan Hill Hospital) ;
  • Trived Soni (Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital Melbourne) ;
  • Kirby R. Qin (Department of Surgery, Austin Health)
  • Received : 2022.01.24
  • Accepted : 2022.03.17
  • Published : 2022.11.30
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Abstract

Backgrounds/Aims: To investigate if the increase in the number of cholecystectomies is proportional to symptomatic gallbladder-associated hospital admissions in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). Methods: National healthcare registries were used to obtain data on all episodes of cholecystectomies and hospital admissions for patients ≥ 15 years from public and private hospitals. Results: Between 2004 and 2019, in Australia, there have been 1,074,747 hospital admissions and 779,917 cholecystectomies, 715,462 (91.7%) of which were laparoscopic, and 163,084 admissions and 98,294 cholecystectomies in NZ. The 15-54 years age group saw an increase in operative rates, +4.0% in Australia and +6.6% in NZ, and admissions, +3.7% and +5.8%, respectively. Hospital admissions decreased by -9.8% in Australia but the proportion of patients undergoing intervention increased by 10.8% (from 67.1% to 75.0% of hospital admissions). Procedural rates increased by +7.3% in NZ with no change in the intervention rate. Conclusions: In Australia, there has been a decline in symptomatic gallbladder-associated hospital admissions and a rise in intervention rate. Admissions and interventions have increased proportionally in NZ. There are higher rates of cholecystectomy and admission amongst younger demographics, compared to historical cohorts. Future research should focus on identifying risk factors for increased disease and operative rates amongst younger populations.

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References

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