Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41733764›Full record

ArticleEsophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society2026

Short-term outcomes of robot-assisted versus conventional thoracoscopic esophagectomy: a nationwide inpatient database study in Japan.

Daisuke Kurita, Yuki Hirano, Koshiro Ishiyama, Junya Oguma, Hiroki Matsui, Kiyohide Fushimi, Yuya Kimura, Shotaro Aso, Hideo Yasunaga, Yasuyuki Seto and 1 more

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Daisuke KuritaDivision of Esophageal Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
Yuki HiranoDepartment of Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic and Gastrointestinal Surgery, International University of Health and Welfare School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Koshiro IshiyamaDivision of Esophageal Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
Junya OgumaDivision of Esophageal Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
Hiroki MatsuiDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Health Economics, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Kiyohide FushimiDepartment of Health Policy and Informatics, Institute of Science Tokyo Graduate School, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuya KimuraDepartment of Health Services Research, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Shotaro AsoDepartment of Health Services Research, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Hideo YasunagaDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Health Economics, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasuyuki SetoDivision of Esophageal Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan.
Hiroyuki DaikoDivision of Esophageal Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104-0045, Japan. hdaiko@ncc.go.jp.ORCID 0000-0002-9562-2966

Funding

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 23AA2003Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 24AA2006
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough the clinical application of robot-assisted esophagectomy (RE) has increased globally, its advantages over conventional thoracoscopic esophagectomy (TE) remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term outcomes of RE compared with TE in patients with esophageal cancer in a nationwide cohort.

methodsWe retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent RE or TE for esophageal cancer between April 2018 and March 2022 by extracting data from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination, a Japanese national inpatient database. Instrumental variable analysis was employed to compare the short-term outcomes between the two groups. The primary outcomes included respiratory complications and unplanned reintubation.

resultsAmong 7003 eligible patients from 69 hospitals, 1971 (28.1%) and 5032 (71.9%) underwent RE and TE, respectively. Respiratory complications, unplanned reintubation, and anastomotic leakage occurred in 1501 (21.4%), 475 (6.8%), and 904 patients (12.9%), respectively. Instrumental variable analysis demonstrated that the incidence of respiratory complications [odds ratio 0.65 (95% CI: 0.52-0.81) P < 0.001], unplanned reintubation [0.44 (0.31-0.62) P < 0.001], and anastomotic leakage [0.73 (0.56-0.94) P = 0.013] was significantly lower in the RE group compared with the TE group.

conclusionsRE was associated with better short-term outcomes, including fewer respiratory complications, unplanned reintubation, and anastomotic leakage, compared with TE.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsEsophagectomyRobotic Surgical ProceduresThoracoscopyAgedDatabases, FactualFemaleHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedPostoperative ComplicationsRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeEsophageal neoplasmEsophagectomyPostoperative complicationsRobotic surgical proceduresThoracoscopy

Identifiers

PMID41733764

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