Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33689047›Full record

ArticleHernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery2021

Outcomes of obese compared to non-obese veterans undergoing open inguinal hernia repair: a case-control study.

S Huerta, N Tran, B Yi, T Pham

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

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 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Is the recurrence rate higher in obese patients undergoing inguinal hernia surgery?Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Effects of obesity on outcomes of laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair: a retrospective analysis.Wideochirurgia i inne techniki maloinwazyjne = Videosurgery and other miniinvasive techniques · 2024
    Article
  5. Article
  6. 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 at 3 institutions in 1 country.

S HuertaDepartment of Surgery, VA North Texas Health Care System, 4500 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas, TX, 75216, USA. Sergio.Huerta@UTSW.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-7720-419X
N TranDepartment of Surgery, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
B YiDepartment of Surgery, VA North Texas Health Care System, 4500 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas, TX, 75216, USA.
T PhamDepartment of Surgery, VA North Texas Health Care System, 4500 S. Lancaster Road, Dallas, TX, 75216, USA.
VA North Texas Health Care System · USSouthwestern Medical Center · USThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe optimal approach for inguinal hernia repair in the obese remains elusive. Minimally invasive techniques show equivocal results compared to the open method. None of the current analyses include a non-obese control group because the differences in factors leading to complications vary widely between these two cohorts. MATERIALS AND

methodsIn the present study, we matched (1:1) obese to non-obese patients undergoing an open inguinal hernia repair. Matching was performed by age, hernia type (bilateral, inguinal, femoral, recurrent, primary, direct, pantaloon, and scrotal component), type of repair (tissue repair vs. mesh), concurrent umbilical hernia repair, current smoking, ASA Class, a history of DM and COPD.

resultsDemographics in the unmatched cohorts demonstrated significantly (p < 0.05) wide differences between obese (n = 319) and non-obese (n = 1137) veterans: age (58.0- vs. 63.4-year-old), indirect hernia (37.7% vs. 45.5%), scrotal component (14.4% vs. 9.9%), current smoking (23.5% vs. 34.4%), DM (20.8% vs. 13.1%), OSA (13.2% vs. 3.6%), COPD (12.2% vs. 18.5%), and BPH (16.9% vs. 23.3). After matching, there were 300 obese and 300 non-obese patients available for analysis. There was no difference in 30-day morbidity between obese and non-obese patients in the unmatched (11.0% vs. 7.9%; p = 0.09) and matched (10.7% vs. 8.1%, p = 0.27) cohorts. Similarly, no differences in inguinodynia and recurrence were observed in either matched or unmatched cohorts.

conclusionObese patients pose no further risk in outcomes compared to non-obese veterans undergoing open inguinal hernia repair. The best technique for an inguinal hernia repair in obese patients should rest on the comfort and the experience of the surgeon.

Indexed as

Hernia, InguinalLaparoscopyVeteransCase-Control StudiesHerniorrhaphyHumansMiddle AgedObesitySurgical MeshBody mass indexGroin herniaOperative timeVeteran Affairs Hospital

Identifiers

PMID33689047
OpenAlexW3134971790

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.