Background Some genetic association studies tried to investigate potential associations of transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) polymorphisms with chronic liver disease. However, the results of these studies were not consistent. Thus, we performed the present meta‐analysis to explore associations between TM6SF2 polymorphisms and chronic liver disease in a larger pooled population. Methods Systematic literature research of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and CNKI was performed to identify eligible studies for pooled analyses. I2 statistics were employed to assess between‐study heterogeneities. If I2 was greater than 50%, random‐effect models (REMs) would be used to pool the data. Otherwise, fixed‐effect models (FEMs) would be applied for synthetic analyses. Results Totally 28 studies were included for analyses (13,137 cases and 11,010 controls). The pooled analyses showed that rs58542926 polymorphism was significantly associated with chronic liver disease in overall population (dominant model: p < 0.0001, OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.64–0.76, I2 = 47%; recessive model: p < 0.0001, OR = 2.94, 95% CI = 2.05–4.20, I2 = 0%; over‐dominant model: p < 0.0001, OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.23–1.47, I2 = 0%; allele model: p < 0.0001, OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.63–0.73, I2 = 47%), and these significant findings were further confirmed in both Asians and Caucasians. Stratified analyses by type of disease revealed similar positive results in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and NAFLD (Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), but not in chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC). Conclusions These results suggested that TM6SF2 rs58542926 could be used to identify individuals at higher susceptibility to chronic liver disease, especially for HCC, cirrhosis, ALD, and NAFLD.

Surgical approach (SA) is the standard treatment for infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP) and endoscopic transgastric approach (ETA) is a promising alternative treatment. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of ETA versus SA in INP. Several databases were systematically searched for eligible studies that compared ETA with SA for INP. Predefined criteria were used for study selection. Three reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias. Primary outcomes included clinical resolution rate, short-term mortality, major complications, and hospital stay. Study-specific effect sizes and their 95% confidence interval (CI) were combined to calculate the pooled value using fixed-effects or random-effects model. Six studies were included with 295 patients. Major complication rate [odds ratio (OR), 0.13; 95% CI, 0.06-0.29], new-onset organ failure rate (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.12-0.54), postoperative pancreatic fistula rate (OR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03-0.28), and incisional hernia rate (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.85) were lower in the ETA group. There was a shorter hospital stay (mean difference, −17.72; 95% CI, −21.30 to −14.13) in the ETA group. No differences were found in clinical resolution, short-term mortality, postoperative bleeding, perforation of visceral organ, and endocrine or exocrine insufficiency. Compared with SA, ETA showed comparable effectiveness and safety for the treatment of INP based on current evidence.