Minimally invasive surgery compared to endoscopic intervention for treating infected pancreatic necrosis. A meta-analysis

Introduction
The current study aimed to compare the outcomes of endoscopic and minimally invasive surgical treatment for infected necrotizing pancreatitis.

Material and methods
A meta-analysis of clinical studies on minimally invasive operations for necrotic infection was conducted. A systematic review and study inclusion were done on multiple databases. English-language prospective comparison studies were included. Random design was used to analyze research with continuous and dichotomous variables.

Results
Ten studies were included in the current study. When compared to minimally invasive surgery, endoscopic procedures showed significant beneficial outcomes regarding low post-operative complication rates (p = 0.006), new onset organ failure (p < 0.001), and pancreatic fistula (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the two interventions regarding hospital stay, postoperative bleeding, incisional hernia, endocrine insufficiency, and perforation of a visceral organ.

Conclusions
Endoscopic therapy appears to have potential advantages over minimally invasive surgery. However, there is no difference between interventions regarding several parameters.