Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33428011›Full record

ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2021

Should surgeons repair symptomatic, clinically occult, radiologically evident, inguinal hernias? A case-control study of patient-reported outcomes.

M Aly, B M Farquharson, O Clarke, G K Atkin

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Article in Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Observational
  3. Laparoscopic iliopubic tract repair for asymptomatic contralateral occult inguinal hernia.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2024
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
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

4 authors.

M AlyDepartment of General Surgery, The Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK. m.aly@nhs.net.ORCID 0000-0001-6305-2789
B M FarquharsonDepartment of General Surgery, The Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK.
O ClarkeDepartment of General Surgery, The Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK.
G K AtkinDepartment of General Surgery, The Lister Hospital, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPatients who present with symptomatic, clinically occult, radiologically evident (SCORE) inguinal hernia represent diagnostic and therapeutic challenge with a wide differential diagnosis of groin pain. Often, diagnosis leads to surgical intervention despite the lack of evidence supporting this practice. This study evaluates patient-reported outcomes following surgical or conservative management of SCORE inguinal hernia.

methodsSingle-centre retrospective review of radiology database and general surgery outpatient booking system between 2017 and 2018 to identify SCORE hernia patients. Notes review to identify surgical and conservative management groups. Patient-reported outcomes determined using the validated EuraHS-QOL tool. Surveys sent to patients via post with follow-up telephone conversations between October 2019 and June 2020. Replies from the conservative and operative cohorts were compared.

resultsTotal of 76 patients identified. 63 (83%) replies received and analysed (10 did not answer, 2 declined, 1 deceased). 32 in the surgical cohort and 31 in conservative management cohort. No statistically significant difference was there between cohorts in age, BMI, ASA, Charlson Comorbidity Index. No statistically significant difference was there in pain at the site of hernia (p = 0.535); restrictions of activities (p = 0.406); cosmetic discomfort (p = 0.289) in patient-reported outcomes between surgical and conservative cohorts.

conclusionThere is no difference in pain, restriction to function or cosmesis in symptomatic clinically occult, radiologically evident inguinal hernia patients following either surgical or conservative management. A clear definition and further studies are essential to deliver better care for this population of patients.

Indexed as

Hernia, InguinalSurgeonsCase-Control StudiesHerniorrhaphyHumansPatient Reported Outcome MeasuresQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesSurgical MeshGroinHerniaInguinalManagementOccultPain

Identifiers

PMID33428011

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.