Efficacy of transanal drainage tube in preventing anastomotic leakage after surgery for rectal cancer: A meta-analysis

Table 1 Characteristics of the studies

		Zhao etal[18]	Tamura etal[19]	Xiao etal[23]	Challine etal[24]	Zhao etal[25]
Country		China	Japan	China	France	China
Published year		2021	2021	2011	2020	2013
Study design		RCT	RCT	RCT	PCS	PCS
Study setting		Multicenter	Multicenter	Single center	Single center	Singlecenter
Age	TDT	62 (54-69)1	69 (40-90)1	59 ± 112	64 ± 122	≥ 60/< 60, 30/51
	Non-TDT	62 (52-69)1	69 (39-91)1	58 ± 122	60 ± 122	≥ 60/< 60, 36/41
Sex (male/female)	TDT	177/103	51/28	115/85	51/21	47/34
	Non-TDT	169/111	50/28	121/77	51 / 21	43/34
Preoperative treatment (radiochemotherapy)	TDT	Excluded	10 (12.7%)	Excluded	41 (56.9%)	Excluded
	Non-TDT	Excluded	19 (24.3%)	Excluded	47 (65.3%)	Excluded
DS	TDT	72 (25.7%)	34 (43.0%)	Excluded	Unknown but equal rate by matching	Excluded
	Non-TDT	89 (31.8%)	37 (47.4%)	Excluded	Unknown but equal rate by matching	Excluded
Type of tube		Silicone tube, 28 Fr	Latex tube, 20-24 Fr	Silicone tube commonly used for abdominal drainage	Foley catheter, Ch 22	Rubber tube, 26 Fr
Duration		3-7 d	At least 5 d	5-7 d	At least 4 d	5-6 d
Significant side effects relating to anal tube		Anal pain	None	Perianastomotic bleeding	None	None
AL (A/B/C)	TDT	NA/14/4	2/5/1	NA/6/2	12/9/4	NA/0/2
	Non-TDT	NA/11/8	3/7/1	NA/3/16	9/5/2	NA/0/7
AL in the patients wihout a DS (A/B/C)	TDT	NA/8/4	NA	NA/6/2	NA	NA/0/2
	Non-TDT	NA/7/8	NA	NA/3/16	NA	NA/0/7

¹Median (range).

²mean ± SD.

NA: Not available; TDT: Transanal drainage tube; RCT: Randomized controlled trial; PCS: Prospective cohort study; AL: Anastomotic leakage; DS: Diverting stoma.