Biliary anastomosis using T‐tube versus no T‐tube for liver transplantation in adults

This systematic review compared the use of T-tube in biliary anastomosis during liver transplantation in adults. The analysis included six randomized controlled trials with a total of 844 participants followed for an average of 23 months. Results showed that T-tube may reduce the incidence of biliary stenosis (to 33% of original risk), but simultaneously significantly increases complications directly related to the T-tube (17.81-fold higher risk). T-tube use had no clear effect on overall mortality or bile leaks. The quality of evidence was very low due to methodological limitations, imprecision of results, and heterogeneity between studies. None of the studies assessed patient quality of life.