Efficacy of reinforcing sutures in preventing anastomotic leakage after surgery for rectal cancer: A systematic review and metaanalysis

Table 3 The pooled outcomes

Outcomes of interest	Number of studies	Number of patients	MD or OR (95%CI)	P value	I2, %
Primary outcome
Anastomotic leakage	20	3726	0.26 (0.19, 0.35)	< 0.001	0
Secondary outcome
Length of the operation	15	2712	15.25 (10.71, 19.80)	< 0.001	97
Intraoperative blood loss	15	2712	2.04 (-2.35, 6.42)	0.36	91
Length of hospital stay	12	2259	-1.17 (-1.78, -0.57)	< 0.001	95
Anal exhaust time	14	2228	-0.13 (-0.22, -0.05)	0.002	91
Anastomotic bleeding	5	763	0.41 (0.13, 1.25)	0.12	0
Anastomotic stricture	3	508	0.65 (0.35, 1.21)	0.17	0
Intestinal obstruction	7	1754	0.91 (0.58, 1.42)	0.68	23
Infection	8	1590	0.54 (0.29, 1.00)	0.05	0
Reoperation	6	862	0.19 (0.08, 0.45)	< 0.001	0

MD: Mean difference; OR: Odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval.