Effect of sodium hyaluronate-arboxycellulose membrane (Seprafilm®) on postoperative small bowel obstruction: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of Seprafilm® on postoperative small bowel obstruction.A literature search was conducted in the PubMed and EMBASE databases through August 2020. The pooled risk ratios as well as the corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated using RevMan 5.3 software.A total of 9 clinical control trials involving 4,351 patients (2,123 in the Seprafilm® group and 2,228 in the control group) were included. The overall analysis showed that the pooled risk ratio was 0.45 (95% confidence interval = 0.34-0.60; P.00001), indicating that the risk of postoperative small bowel obstruction can be significantly decreased by the application of Seprafilm®. Similarly, an obvious effect of Seprafilm® on reducing the rate of postoperative small bowel obstruction was also shown in the subgroup analyses by population (adult participants), study design (randomized control study or nonrandomized control study), region (Japan or Korea), follow-up duration (2 years or 5 years), and sheet number of Seprafilm® (1 sheet or1 sheet).In conclusion, the use of Seprafilm® is beneficial for decreasing the rate of postoperative small bowel obstruction.