Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39134234›Full record

ArticleThe Annals of thoracic surgery2025

Intraoperative Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Monitoring for Esophagectomy: A National Cohort Study.

Takashi Shigeno, Keisuke Okuno, Taichi Ogo, Hisashi Fujiwara, Toshiro Tanioka, Kenro Kawada, Shigeo Haruki, Masanori Tokunaga, Kiyohide Fushimi, Yusuke Kinugasa

Abstract readMulticenter Study
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In one paragraph

Article in The Annals of thoracic surgery, 2025. 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.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Takashi ShigenoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Keisuke OkunoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: oku-srg1@tmd.ac.jp.
Taichi OgoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Hisashi FujiwaraDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Toshiro TaniokaDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Kenro KawadaDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Shigeo HarukiDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Masanori TokunagaDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Kiyohide FushimiDepartment of Health Policy and Informatics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Yusuke KinugasaDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLymphadenectomy around the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is an essential part of curative surgery for esophageal cancer. Although several single-center studies have shown that intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) can avoid RLN palsy, this has not been confirmed in a large-scale multicenter study. This study used a national database to evaluate whether IONM can reduce postoperative RLN palsy during minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) for esophageal cancer.

methodsWe retrieved data of patients with esophageal cancer who underwent 3-field thoracoscopic or robotic MIE with cervical anastomosis with IONM(+) (502 patients) and without IONM(-) (4353 patients) from April 2020 to March 2022 from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in Japan. We used propensity score-matching analysis to compare the frequency of postoperative RLN palsy and respiratory complications between the IONM(+) group and IONM(-) group.

resultsThe postoperative RLN palsy rate was significantly lower in the IONM(+) than IONM(-) group (odds ratio, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.13-0.46). The respiratory complication rate was also significantly lower in the IONM(+) than in the IONM(-) group (odds ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45-0.97). The anesthesia time was significantly longer in the IONM(+) group (regression coefficient, 60.1 minutes; 95% CI, 44.2-76.9 minutes). The length of postoperative hospitalization tended to be shorter in the IONM(+) than in the IONM(-) group (regression coefficient, -1.39 days; 95% CI, -3.91 to 1.14).

conclusionsThis national cohort study showed that IONM during 3-field MIE for esophageal cancer was associated with a reduction of postoperative RLN palsy and respiratory complications.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsEsophagectomyRecurrent Laryngeal NerveRecurrent Laryngeal Nerve InjuriesAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedMonitoring, IntraoperativePostoperative ComplicationsRetrospective StudiesThoracoscopyVocal Cord Paralysis

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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.