Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39621200›Full record

ArticleEsophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society2025

Association between the COVID-19 pandemic and short-term outcomes after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in facilities with and without board-certified esophageal surgeons: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.

Masashi Takeuchi, Hideki Endo, Taizo Hibi, Ryo Seishima, Yusuke Takemura, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, Hiromichi Maeda, Akinobu Taketomi, Yoshihiro Kakeji, Yasuyuki Seto and 9 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

19 authors.

Masashi TakeuchiDepartment of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
Hideki EndoDepartment of Healthcare Quality Assessment, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
Taizo HibiDepartment of Pediatric Surgery and Transplantation, Kumamoto University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuoku, Kumamoto, 860-8582, Japan. taizohibi@gmail.com.
Ryo SeishimaDepartment of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
Yusuke TakemuraDepartment of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
Hiroyuki YamamotoDepartment of Healthcare Quality Assessment, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
Hiromichi MaedaDepartment of Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi, 783-8505, Japan.
Akinobu TaketomiDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery I, Hokkaido University Hospital, Hokkaido, 060-8638, Japan.
Yoshihiro KakejiDatabase Committee, The Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasuyuki SetoDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
Hideki UenoDatabase Committee, The Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery, Tokyo, Japan.
Masayuki WatanabeThe Japan Esophageal Society, Tokyo, Japan.
Hiroyuki DaikoThe Japan Esophageal Society, Tokyo, Japan.
Takushi YasudaThe Japan Esophageal Society, Tokyo, Japan.
Makoto YamasakiThe Japan Esophageal Society, Tokyo, Japan.
Masaki MoriTokai University, Kanagawa, 259-1292, Japan.
Hiroya TakeuchiThe Japan Esophageal Society, Tokyo, Japan.
Ken ShirabeDepartment of General Surgical Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Gunma, 371-8511, Japan.
Yuko KitagawaDepartment of Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.

Funding

MHLW Research on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and Immunization Program JPMH23HA2011
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment procedures. We speculated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, sufficient medical resources were maintained in board-certified hospitals, resulting in favorable short-term outcomes, whereas hospital functions in non-board-certified hospitals declined, leading to mortality increase. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on short-term outcomes after esophagectomy, based on the scale of the facilities.

methodsData of patients who underwent esophagectomy for esophageal cancer between January 2018 and December 2022 were analyzed using the National Clinical Database (NCD) of Japan. We selected the Authorized Institutes for Board-certified Esophageal Surgeons (AIBCESs) certified by the Japan Esophageal Society (JES) at the hospital level for evaluating the difference in outcomes between institutions. Operative mortality rates and other morbidities were evaluated using the standardized mortality and morbidity ratio (SMR, the ratio of the number of observed patients to the expected number of patients).

resultsWithin the study period, the annual mean operative mortality rate was higher in non-AIBCESs than in AIBCESs. The SMR showed no significant difference after the COVID-19 pandemic in non-AIBCES for mortality, as well as that in AIBCES.

conclusionsIn non-AIBCESs, no worsening of results caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was observed despite the shortage of medical resources. Our findings highlighted the high quality of esophageal surgery in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, a critical situation with limited medical resources.

Indexed as

COVID-19Esophageal NeoplasmsEsophagectomySurgeonsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCertificationFemaleHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeCOVID-19Esophageal cancerEsophagectomyPandemicSurgical outcome

Identifiers

PMID39621200

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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.