Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28840000›Full record

ArticleJournal of thoracic disease2017

A meta-analysis of video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication versus open thoracotomy decortication for patients with empyema.

Hui Pan, Jiaxi He, Jianfei Shen, Long Jiang, Wenhua Liang, Jianxing He

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of thoracic disease, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Hui PanDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jiaxi HeDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jianfei ShenDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Long JiangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Wenhua LiangDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Jianxing HeDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University · CNGuangzhou Medical University · CNNational Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases · CNState Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThoracic pleural empyema is a collection of pus within a thoracic cavity. In stage 2 (fibrinopurulent) and stage 3 (organizational), decortication is the only choice. But there is no consensus on whether to choose video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication (VATD) or open thoracotomy decortication (OTD). We sought to answer this question by performing a meta-analysis.

methodSix electronic databases were searched. Primary outcomes were operative time, postoperative hospital stay, prolonged air leak, chest tube duration, relapse rate, morbidity and mortality. Review Manager (RevMan) [Computer program]. Version 5.2, 2014 was used to pool the data. Subgroup analysis and publication bias analysis were also conducted.

resultThe operative time [mean difference -36.89; 95% confidence interval (CI), -60.96 to -12.82; P=0.003], postoperative hospital stay (mean difference -2.41; 95% CI, -3.74 to -1.09; P=0.0004), prolonged air leak (9.7%

conclusionsThe present study summarized and compared the clinical outcomes of VATD versus OTD for the empyema patients. The current data showed that VATD might be comparable or even better than OTD in terms of operative time, postoperative hospital stay, chest tube duration, prolonged air leak rate, morbidity and mortality. But referring to the relapse rate, there was no statistical significance. The results from analysis was subject bias because of prospective randomized studies were not selected. However, VATD could be implemented safely as first-line management for most of empyema.

Indexed as

debridementdecorticationempyemathoracotomyVATS

Identifiers

PMID28840000
PMCPMC5542928
OpenAlexW2740218993

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.