Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and quality of life after oncologic gastric surgery: Evaluation from a single tertiary center

Table 1 Clinico-demographic characteristics of the study population and comparative analysis between no-exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency cohorts, n (%)

Variables	Study population (n = 44)	No-EPI (n = 28)	EPI (n = 16)	P value
Sex
Male	26 (59.1)	16 (57.1)	10 (62.5)	0.73
Female	18 (40.9)	12 (42.9)	6 (37.5)
Age
≥ 65	26 (59.1)	16 (57.1)	10 (62.5)	0.73
< 65	18 (40.9)	12 (42.9)	6 (37.5)
Comorbidities
Diabetes	7 (15.9)	3 (10.7)	4 (25)	0.15
Cardiovascular disease	11 (25)	6 (21.4)	5 (31.3)
Pulmonary disease	7 (15.9)	2 (7.1)	5 (31.3)
ASA score
ASA 1	0	0	0	0.46
ASA 2	36 (81.8)	22 (78.6)	14 (87.5)
ASA 3	8 (18.2)	6 (21.4)	2 (12.5)
Tumor location
Proximal	14 (31.8)	10 (35.7)	4 (25)	0.43
Middle	7 (15.9)	3 (10.7)	4 (25)
Distal	23 (52.3)	15 (53.6)	8 (50)
Neoadjuvant therapy	25 (56.8)	14 (50)	11 (68.8)	0.23
Type of surgical procedure
STG	26 (59.1)	17 (60.7)	9 (56.2)	0.18
Total gastrectomy	14 (31.8)	7 (25)	7 (43.8)
Superior polar gastrectomy	4 (9.1)	4 (14.3)	0
Reconstruction after STG
Roux-en-Y	19 (73.1)	12 (70.6)	7 (77.8)	0.69
Billroth II	7 (26.9)	5 (29.4)	2 (22.2)
Clavien-Dindo ≥ 3
	4 (9.1)	4 (14.3)	0	0.11
Fecal elastase (mcg/g), median (QR)
	343.5 (157-513.75)	476 (345.75-631.75)	120.5 (52.75-194.5)	< 0.0001
Histotype
Intestinal	23 (52.3)	16 (57.1)	7 (43.7)	0.08
Diffuse	11 (25)	7 (25)	4 (25)
Mixed	10 (22.7)	5 (17.9)	5 (31.3)
T stage
T1-T2	18 (40.9)	14 (50)	4 (25)	0.1
T3-T4	26 (59.1)	14 (50)	12 (75)
N stage
N0	19 (43.2)	14 (50)	5 (31.3)	0.23
N+	25 (56.8)	14 (50)	11 (68.7)
Adjuvant therapy
	24 (54.5)	14 (50)	10 (62.5)	0.42
Tumor recurrence
	11 (25)	5 (19.2)	6 (37.5)	0.19

ASA: American Society of Anesthesiologists; EPI: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; STG: Subtotal gastrectomy.