Meta-Analysis of the Effect of the Clinical Pathway Applied to Patients with Endoscopic Sinus Surgery in China.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common diseases in China. The incidence of CRS in the Chinese urban population is between 5 and 15%. It is difficult to cure with traditional surgery. Endoscopic sinus surgery is the first choice for the treatment of CRS. Compared with developed countries, the development of the clinical pathway of endoscopic sinus surgery in China is still unclear.
Objectives: The aim is to explore whether the clinical pathway of endonasal sinus surgery is better than the traditional one in the Chinese population.
Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, SinoMed, China National Knowledge Internet, Wanfang database of Chinese Journals, and VIP database of Chinese Journals. The last retrieval date was August 24, 2018. Review Manager 5.3 software was used for comprehensive quantification data analysis.
Results: Fourteen papers involving 1,882 patients were included in this study. The results showed that compared with the traditional pathway, the clinical pathway can effectively shorten the average number of hospitalization days (mean difference, MD = -2.00, 95% CI: -2.50, -1.49). In total, 10 of the 14 papers, with a total of 1,500 patients, proved that the clinical pathway can effectively reduce the hospitalization costs of patients (standard mean difference, SMD = -3.15, 95% CI: -4.20, -2.10); 11 of the 14 papers, with a total of 1,488 patients, proved that the clinical pathway can effectively improve patients' knowledge of health (95% CI:1.03, 1.09); and 7 of the 14 papers, with a total of 810 patients, proved that the clinical pathway can effectively improve patient satisfaction (95% CI:1.10, 1.20).
Conclusions: Our systematic review and meta-analysis support the use of the clinical pathway in patients with endoscopic sinus surgery in China.
(© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.)