SynthesisBMC surgery2025
Do nasogastric or nasoenteric tubes improve outcomes from adhesional small bowel obstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC surgery, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Focus on POCUS.Ochsner journal · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare outcomes of nasogastric (NGT) or nasoenteric tube decompression against no decompression in the non-operative management of adhesional small bowel obstruction (ASBO) using a systematic review and meta-analysis.
methodsDatabase searches up to February 2025 were conducted using Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE and SCOPUS. Abstract screening and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. Patients aged 18 and above were included. Studies were excluded if they compared NGTs to long tube devices or if the primary aetiology of SBO was not adhesions. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale and meta-analysis was performed using RevMan Web Software.
resultsSearches yielded 1442 studies, of which 4 met the inclusion criteria, comprising a total of 1219 patients undergoing non-operative management for ASBO. These were all retrospective cohort studies. Within these studies, a total of 732 patients had a nasogastric or nasoenteric tube inserted for ASBO while 487 patients were managed without one. NGT use had a non-significant trend toward increased operative intervention, with a pooled odds ratio of 2.58 (95% CI: 0.77 to 8.65; p = 0.09, I² = 82%). Three studies compared bowel resection rates; NGT use was not associated with a statistically significant increased risk of bowel resection (OR 2.31; 95% CI: 0.86-6.16; p = 0.10). All studies reported a longer length of hospital stay in the NGT group.
conclusionsThe available evidence is sparse, limited in design and quality, and marked by high heterogeneity, making it insufficient to draw a definitive conclusion regarding the role of NGTs in ASBO. High-quality evidence from a randomised controlled trial is needed to guide future practice.
trial registrationPROSPERO (CRD: CRD42021256098).
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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.