A longitudinal study of endoscopic naso-leakage negative pressure drainage for anastomotic leak after esophagectomy

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Background and aimsPostoperative anastomotic leak is a threatening complication after esophagectomy. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic naso-leakage negative pressure drainage for anastomotic leak by longitudinal analyses, so as to focus on the intra-individual changes associated with the drainage in the disease course and to minimize the between-subject variations.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective longitudinal study. We hypothesize that maximum temperature (Tmax), maximum heart rate (HRmax), White blood cell count (WBC), and C reactive protein (CRP) had a two-piece linear spline growth curve with a notch at the time of drainage. Linear mixed-effects regressions were used to test the hypothesis of whether endoscopic naso-leakage negative pressure drainage changed the pattern of development of these clinical parameters with time.ResultsThirty patients were included, among which 83.3% were male, with a median age of 77 years. The median postoperative time to drainage was 16.5 days (range 6-66). Observations for Tmax, HRmax, WBC, CRP and PCT were 1366, 1372, 394, 296 and 290, respectively. After adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index, Tmax, HRmax, WBC and CRP showed similar pattern. There was no significant change over time before naso-leakage negative pressure drainage, while the four parameters all decreased significantly over time after naso-leakage negative pressure drainage.ConclusionsThe slope over time of Tmax, HRmax, WBC and CRP changed significantly after naso-leakage negative pressure drainage. Naso-leakage negative pressure drainage brought gradual decrease of these inflammatory parameters and could serve as a promising management for postoperative anastomotic leak after esophagectomy.