(1) Background: Whether goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) provides any outcome benefit
as compared to non-goal-directed fluid therapy (N-GDFT) in elective abdominal laparoscopic
surgery has not been determined yet. (2) Methods: A systematic literature search was
conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, and Scopus. The main outcomes
were length of hospital stay (LOHS), time to first flatus and stool, intraoperative
fluid and vasopressor requirements, serum lactate levels, and urinary output. Pooled
risks ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for dichotomous
outcomes and weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% CI for continuous outcomes. (3)
Results: Eleven studies were included in the quantitative, and fifteen in the qualitative
synthesis. LOHS (WMD: -1.18 days, 95% CI: -1.84 to -0.53) and time to first stool
(WMD: -9.8 h; CI -12.7 to -7.0) were significantly shorter in the GDFT group. GDFT
resulted in significantly less intraoperative fluid administration (WMD: -441 mL,
95% CI: -790 to -92) and lower lactate levels at the end of the operation: WMD: -0.25
mmol L-1; 95% CI: -0.36 to -0.14. (4) Conclusions: GDFT resulted in enhanced recovery
of the gastrointestinal function and shorter LOHS as compared to N-GDFT.
