Daily Medical Update

Hemorrhoids and fissures

Saturday, August 15, 2026

🔬 Practice-Changing Findings
Evidence from RCTs and meta-analyses published in the last 12 months.

1. Conventional vs. Laser Haemorrhoidectomy for Symptomatic Haemorrhoids: A Meta-Analysis.

Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons--Pakistan : JCPSP (2026) - Meta-Analysis

Key Findings

  • Diode laser haemorrhoidoplasty reduced intraoperative blood loss versus conventional techniques (mean difference −20.19 mL; 95% CI −28.32 to −12.07; p < 0.001).
  • Laser treatment also reduced postoperative bleeding (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.11–0.93) and postoperative pain immediately and at one week.

📋 Practice Implication: For suitable symptomatic haemorrhoids, laser haemorrhoidoplasty may offer less perioperative morbidity and pain than conventional excision, although procedure selection should remain individualized.

2. Metronidazole is an effective method of analgesia following haemorrhoidectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

International journal of colorectal disease (2026) - Meta-Analysis

Key Findings

  • Metronidazole lowered postoperative pain scores on days 1, 2, 3, and 7 compared with placebo, including a day-7 mean difference of −1.72 (95% CI −2.27 to −1.18; p < 0.00001).
  • Topical metronidazole produced lower day-3 pain scores than oral administration (difference 1.38; 95% CI 0.44–2.32; p = 0.004).

📋 Practice Implication: Metronidazole is a plausible adjunct to multimodal analgesia after excisional haemorrhoidectomy, with topical delivery showing the strongest later postoperative pain signal in this review.

3. Operative versus nonoperative treatment of thrombosed external hemorrhoids: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Updates in surgery (2025) - Meta-Analysis

Key Findings

  • Operative treatment lowered recurrence compared with conservative management (RR 0.49; 95% CI 0.26–0.91; p < 0.05).
  • Bleeding risk did not differ significantly between operative and nonoperative groups (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.27–3.44; p = 0.95).

📋 Practice Implication: When treating a thrombosed external haemorrhoid, clinicians can frame surgery as a recurrence-reducing option without a demonstrated bleeding disadvantage, while still weighing patient preference and procedural burden.

4. Evidence Suggests Prophylactic Antibiotics May Be Unnecessary in Anorectal Surgery-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

World journal of surgery (2026) - Meta-Analysis

Key Findings

  • Routine prophylactic antibiotics did not significantly reduce surgical-site infections in elective anorectal surgery.
  • Other postoperative complication rates were also not significantly reduced with prophylactic antibiotics.

📋 Practice Implication: Routine antibiotic prophylaxis may be avoidable for many elective anorectal procedures, supporting procedure- and patient-specific prescribing and antimicrobial stewardship.

5. Long-term outcomes of stapled haemorrhoidopexy versus conventional haemorrhoidectomy: An updated systematic review, meta-analysis and trial-sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials.

International journal of colorectal disease (2026) - Meta-Analysis

Key Findings

  • Stapled haemorrhoidopexy had higher overall long-term recurrence than conventional haemorrhoidectomy (RR 1.56; 95% CI 1.00–2.44; I² = 48%).
  • Prolapse-related recurrence was more frequent after stapled haemorrhoidopexy (RR 3.28; 95% CI 1.49–7.25), while reintervention, persistent pain, functional impairment, and quality of life did not differ significantly.

📋 Practice Implication: Stapled haemorrhoidopexy may preserve early recovery advantages but should be presented as less durable anatomically than conventional haemorrhoidectomy, particularly for prolapse control.

💡 Summary

The validated first-pass pool contains four candidates with clinical significance at least 7, so the fifth finding uses the next-highest candidate (significance 6). The research pool was sparse, and search terms may need to be broadened; the studies nevertheless provide practical evidence on operative choice, postoperative analgesia, antibiotic stewardship, and long-term durability.

Generated from 120 PubMed abstracts · RCTs and Meta-analyses only

Next topic: Noninfectious pleural effusion

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