Meta-analysis on transanal tube drainage for the prevention of anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection for rectal cancer

Abstract

Objective To assess of the effect of transanal tube drainage for prevention of anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection for rectal cancer. Method Papers in Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, WanFang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases and other databases from September 2010 and September 2015 were searched for transanal tube for prevention of anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection. Inclusion criteria and quality evaluation were applied to select data in line with the meta-analysis. Results A total of 275 studies were identified, after repeated screening, 9 studies (n=2 040) were eligible for the meta-analysis, including 846 cases with transanal tube drainage, in which 30 cases suffering from anastomotic leakage, 1 195 cases with no transanal tube and there are 128 cases of anastomotic leakage. By meta-analysis, the anastomotic leakage rate (30/846) in transanal tube group was 0.33 times that with no tube group was (128/1 195). There was significant difference in anastomotic leakage rate between the two groups (OR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.48 and P<0.000 01). Conclusions Transanal tube drainage reduces the incidence of anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection for rectal carcinoma. Key words: Rectal neoplasms; Anastomotic leak; Drainage; Meta-analysis