Amylase level in cervical drain fluid and anastomotic leakage after cervical oesophagogastrostomy

Efficacy of Biomarkers in Predicting Anastomotic Leakage After Gastrointestinal Resection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Our systematic review and meta-analysis were designed to evaluate the published literature from 2016 to 2019 on which the role of biomarkers in predicting the anastomotic leakage (AL) in gastroesophageal cancer surgery was investigated. This extensive literature search was conducted on the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. PubMed, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE) were used to gather the relevant information. No restrictions were made on the type of biomarkers. Wald or likelihood ratio (LRT) fixed effect tests were used to estimate the pooled prevalence to generate the proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and model-fitted weights. For analyzing heterogeneity, the Cochran Q test and I square test were used. The Egger regression asymmetry test and funnel plot were used for publication. In this meta-analysis, a total of 15 studies were recruited with 1892 patients undergoing the resection. The pooled elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) was observed as 13.9% ranging from 11.6% to 16.1%. The pooled prevalence of other biomarkers with AL was observed as 4.4%. Significant heterogeneity was observed between studies that reported CRP and other biomarkers (92% each with chi-squared values of 78.80 and 122.78, respectively). However, no significant publication was observed between studies (p=0.61 and p=0.11, respectively). We concluded our study on this note that different biomarkers are involved in the diagnosis of AL. However, all these biomarkers are poor predictors with insufficient predictive value and sensitivity.

A risk scoring system for early diagnosis of anastomotic leakage after subtotal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer

BACKGROUND

Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most critical postoperative complications after subtotal esophagectomy in patients with esophageal cancer. This study attempted to develop an optimal scoring system for stratifying the risk for AL.

METHODS

The study included 171 patients who underwent subtotal esophagectomy for esophageal cancer followed by esophagogastrostomy in the cervical region from January 2011 to April 2021 at Nagoya University Hospital. AL was defined by radiologic or endoscopic evidence of anastomotic breakdown using some modalities. A risk scoring system for an early diagnosis of AL was established using factors determined in the multivariate analysis. A score was calculated for each patient, and the patients were classified into three categories according to the risk for AL: low-, intermediate- and high-risk. The trend of the risk for AL among the categories was evaluated.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine patients (17%) developed AL. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that sinistrous gross features of drain fluid (P < 0.001; odds ratio (OR), 10.2), radiologic air bubble sign (P < 0.001; OR, 15.0) and the level of drain amylase ≥280 U/L on postoperative Day 7 (P < 0.001; OR, 9.0) were significantly associated with AL. According to the matching number of the above three risk factors and categorization into three risk groups, the incidence of AL was 6.1% (8/131) in the low-risk group, 45.5% (15/33) in the intermediate-risk group and 85.7% (6/7) in the high-risk group (area under curve, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.72-0.90).

CONCLUSIONS

The present AL-risk scoring system may be useful in postoperative patient care after subtotal esophagectomy.

The effect of enhanced recovery after minimally invasive esophagectomy: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine if enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) would improve outcomes for three-stage minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE).

METHODS

Patients with esophageal cancer undergoing MIE between March 2016 and August 2018 were consecutively enrolled, and were randomly divided into 2 groups: ERAS+group that received a guideline-based ERAS protocol, and ERAS- group that received standard care. The primary endpoint was morbidity after MIE. The secondary endpoints were the length of stay (LOS) and time to ambulation after the surgery. The perioperative results including the Surgical Apgar Score (SAS) and Visualized Analgesia Score (VAS) were also collected and compared.

RESULTS

A total of 60 patients in the ERAS+ group and 58 patients in the ERAS- group were included. Postoperatively, lower morbidity and pulmonary complication rate were recorded in the ERAS+ group (33.3% vs. 51.7%; p = 0.04, 16.7% vs. 32.8%; p = 0.04), while the incidence of anastomotic leakage remained comparable (11.7% vs. 15.5%; p = 0.54). There was an earlier ambulation (3 [2-3] days vs. 3 [3-4] days, p = 0.001), but comparable LOS (10 [9-11.25] days vs. 10 [9-13] days; p = 0.165) recorded in ERAS+ group. The ERAS protocol led to close scores in both SAS (7.80 ± 1.03 vs. 8.07 ± 0.89, p = 0.21) and VAS (1.74 ± 0.85 vs. 1.78 ± 1.06, p = 0.84).

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of an ERAS protocol for patients undergoing MIE resulted in earlier ambulation and lower pulmonary complications, without a change in anastomotic leakage or length of hospital stay. Further studies on minimizing leakage should be addressed in ERAS for MIE.

C-reactive protein and drain amylase: their utility in ruling out anastomotic leakage after minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy

INTRODUCTION

Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most feared complications after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. We investigated the role of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and drain amylase levels in the early detection of AL.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of 193 patients who underwent a minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis procedure between January 2017 and October 2021. Mean CRP and median drain amylase levels between patients with and without AL were compared during the first five postoperative days (POD). ROC curves on POD 3, 4 and 5 were plotted to calculate cut-off values for CRP.

RESULTS

In 30 of the 193 patients (16%), AL was diagnosed with a median time to diagnosis of 9 days. Mean CRP was significantly higher in patients with AL on POD 3, 4 and 5. Cut-off values of 59, 110 and 106 mg/L had a high sensitivity of 93%, 90% and 90% on POD 3, 4 and 5. No difference in median drain amylase levels was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

CRP levels with a cut-off point of 110 mg/L on POD 4 do not improve earlier detection of AL, but have a high sensitivity for excluding AL. The value of drain amylase in the first 5 days after surgery is limited.

Chest drainage after oesophageal resection: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Modern enhanced recovery protocols discourage drain use due to negative impacts on patient comfort, mobility, and recovery, and lack of proven clinical benefit. After oesophagectomy, however, drains are still routinely placed. This review aimed to assess the evidence for, and how best to use chest drains after oesophageal surgery.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed in Medline, Embase and Cochrane collaboration databases. Studies reporting outcomes for different types or uses of thoracic drainage, or outcomes related to drains after trans-thoracic oesophagectomy were included. Studies were collated into domains based on variations in number, position, type, removal criteria, diagnostic use and complications of drains. Methodological quality was assessed with Newcastle-Ottawa and Jadad scores.

RESULTS

Among 434 potentially relevant studies, 27 studies met the inclusion criteria and these included 2564 patients. Studies that examined the number of drains showed pain reduction with a single drain compared to multiple drains (3 studies, n = 103), and transhiatal placement compared to intercostal (6 studies, n = 425). Amylase levels may aid diagnosis of anastomotic leak (9 studies, n = 888). Narrow calibre Blake drains may effectively drain both air and fluid (2 studies, n = 163). Drain removal criteria by daily drainage volumes of up to 300 mL did not impact subsequent effusion rates (2 studies, n = 130). Complications related directly to drains were reported by 3 studies (n = 59).

CONCLUSION

Available evidence on the impact of thoracic drainage after oesophagectomy is limited, but has the potential to negatively affect outcomes. Further research is required to determine optimum drainage strategies.

Comparison of pleural drain amylase and serum C-reactive protein for early detection of intrathoracic esophago-gastric anastomotic leaks

INTRODUCTION

Early detection of anastomotic leaks following esophagectomy has the potential to reduce hospital length of stay and mortality. The aim of this study was to compare the predictive value of pleural drain amylase and serum C-reactive protein for the early diagnosis of leak.

METHODS

A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted on 121 patients who underwent Ivor Lewis esophagectomy and intrathoracic gastric conduit reconstruction. Pleural drain amylase levels were measured daily until postoperative day (POD) 5 and compared with CRP values measured on POD 3, 5, and 7. Specificity and sensitivity for both tests, and the respective ROC curves, were calculated.

RESULTS

Anastomotic leak occurred in 12 patients. There was a significant statistical association between pleural drain amylase and serum CRP levels and the presence of anastomotic leakage. Pleural drain amylase cutoff of 209 IU/L on POD 2 yielded a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 94% (AUC = 0.813), whereas CRP cutoff value of 22.5 mg/dL on POD 3 yielded a sensitivity of 56% and a specificity of 92% (AUC = 0.772). The negative likelihood ratio of pleural drain amylase was 0.27 and 0.12 on POD 2 and 5, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between ROC curves of amylase and CRP on POD 3 and 5 (p = 0.79 and p = 0.14, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Pleural drain amylase seems more efficient than serum CRP for early detection of esophago-gastric anastomotic leak. The practice of monitoring drain amylase and CRP may allow safer implementation of enhanced postoperative recovery pathway.

Early detection of anastomotic leakage after esophagectomy using drain amylase levels

BACKGROUND

Early diagnosis of anastomotic leakage (AL) after esophagectomy is essential to minimize postoperative complications. In this study, we hypothesized that drain amylase levels may be useful for early AL detection, and measuring drain amylase levels could reduce severe postoperative AL incidence. We, therefore, analyzed the usefulness of measuring drain fluid amylase levels after esophagectomy, in esophageal cancer patients.

METHODS

From January 2016 to March 2020, 134 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent surgical resection with esophagogastric anastomosis in the cervical region were included. The patients were divided into a group whose cervical drain fluid amylase levels were not measured (No-AMY Group) and a group whose cervical drain fluid amylase levels were measured daily until postoperative day (POD) 7 (AMY Group). The incidence of severe AL was compared between groups. In the AMY Group, we also investigated the association between AL and drain amylase levels.

RESULTS

Drain amylase levels were significantly higher in AL-positive cases than in AL-negative cases (P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed the drain amylase level cut-off value for AL diagnosis was 1800 U/L on POD 2 (Area under the curve = 0.835; P = 0.027). The incidence of ≥ grade III AL was significantly lower in the AMY Group than in the No-AMY Group (2 vs. 10%, P = 0.047).

CONCLUSIONS

Cervical drain fluid amylase levels can be a useful screening method for early detection of AL after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer and may help reduce incidence of severe postoperative AL.

Diagnosing anastomotic leak post-esophagectomy: a systematic review

Esophagectomy is the gold-standard treatment for esophageal cancer; however, postoperative anastomotic leakage remains the primary concern for surgeons. No consensus exists on the optimal investigations to predict an anastomotic leak. This systematic review aims to identify a single test or combination of tests with acceptable sensitivity and specificity to identify anastomotic leak after esophagectomy and to formulate a diagnostic algorithm to facilitate surgical decision-making. A systematic review of PubMed and EMBASE databases was undertaken to evaluate diagnostic investigations for anastomotic leak post-esophagectomy. Each study was reviewed and where possible, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were extracted. The review identified 3,204 articles, of which 49 met the inclusion criteria. Investigations most commonly used for diagnosis of anastomotic leak were: C-reactive protein (CRP), oral contrast imaging, computed tomography (CT), pleural drain amylase concentration, and the 'NUn score'. The sensitivity of CRP for detecting anastomotic leak varied from 69.2% to 100%. Oral contrast studies sensitivities varied between 16% and 87.5% and specificity varied from 20% to 100%. Pleural drain amylase sensitivities ranged between 75% and 100% and specificity ranged from 52% to 95.5%. The NUn score sensitivities ranged from 0% to 95% and specificity from 49% to 94.4%. No single investigation was identified to rule out anastomotic leak in asymptomatic patients. However, the authors propose a diagnostic algorithm incorporating CRP, pleural drain amylase concentration, and CT with oral contrast to aid clinicians in predicting anastomotic leak to facilitate safe, timely discharge post-esophagectomy.

Systematic Review of the Role of Biomarkers in Predicting Anastomotic Leakage Following Gastroesophageal Cancer Surgery

Anastomotic leakage (AL) following gastroesophageal cancer surgery remains a serious postoperative complication. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of investigated biomarkers for the early detection of AL following esophagectomy, esophagogastrectomy and gastrectomy. All published studies evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers predicting AL following gastroesophageal resection for cancer were included. The Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched. Risk of bias and applicability were assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) 2 tool. Twenty-four studies evaluated biomarkers in the context of AL following gastroesophageal cancer surgery. Biomarkers were derived from the systemic circulation, mediastinal and peritoneal drains, urine and mediastinal microdialysis. The most commonly evaluated serum biomarkers were C-reactive protein and leucocytes. Both proved to be useful markers for excluding AL owing to its high specificity and negative predictive values. Amylase was the most commonly evaluated peritoneal drain biomarker and significantly elevated levels can predict AL in the early postoperative period. The associated area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve values ranged from 0.482 to 0.994. Current biomarkers are poor predictors of AL after gastroesophageal cancer surgery owing to insufficient sensitivity and positive predictive value. Further research is needed to identify better diagnostic tools to predict AL.