To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ambulatory surgery of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) through the method of systematic evaluation.

Databases such as PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, Wanfang Database and VIP from inception to February 2022 were searched to find out domestic and abroad published literature of ambulatory surgery of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). The data were processed by software RevMan 5.3 for meta-analysis.

A total of 1231 patients were included in 10 articles. Meta-analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in stone-free rate (SFR) (OR=1.10, 95%CI: 0.72-1.68, P=0.65), readmission rate (OR=1.27, 95%CI: 0.58-2.78, P=0.55), postoperative fever rate (OR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.31-1.15, P=0.12), Hemoglobin drop(MD=?1.19, 95%CI: ?2.89-0.51, P=0.17) between the two groups. The ambulatory surgery percutaneous of nephrolithotomy (PCNL) group was more efficient than the inpatient surgery of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) group in overall complication rate(OR=0.58, 95%CI: 0.41-0.82, P=0.002), operative time(MD=?8.68min, 95%CI: ?14.48-?2.88, P=0.003), blood transfusion rate (OR=0.29, 95%CI: 0.12~0.71, P=0.007), hospitalization expense (SMD=?2.26, 95%CI: ?3.59-?0.93, P<0.001).

Compared with inpatient surgery PCNL group, the ambulatory PCNL group has stable stone-free rate, short operative time and rapid recovery. There is no significant difference in postoperative complications and readmission rate. The ambulatory PCNL can be performed relatively safely and effectively in patients who meet the indications, but the process still needs to be further explored and standardized.