Table 3.
Surgical outcomes after propensity matching.
| Outcome | RATS | VATS | Difference RATS vs. VATS (95% CI) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating time, min | 132.4 ± 37.3 | 122.4 ± 27.7 | 10.0 (4.2, 15.9) | 0.001 |
| Estimated blood loss, ml | 82.2 ± 195.4 | 169.7 ± 237.2 | −87.5 (−126.8, −48.1) | <0.001 |
| Transfusion of blood products,% | 1.8 | 4.9 | −3.1 (−7.3, 1.2) | 0.161 |
| Conversion to thoracotomy,% | 4.3 | 3.2 | 1.1 (−2.5, 4.7) | 0.562 |
| Complications,% | ||||
| Atelectasis requiring bronchoscopy | 5.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 (−0.4, 5.9) | 0.092 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 8.5 | 6.1 | 2.4 (−1.6, 6.5) | 0.238 |
| Bleeding requiring reoperation | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.582 | |
| Empyema | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.2 (−0.8, 3.3) | 0.245 |
| Pneumonia | 11.0 | 9.6 | 1.4 (−3.7, 6.5) | 0.599 |
| Prolonged air leak 1 | 6.7 | 7.9 | −1.2 (−5.7, 3.2) | 0.590 |
| Pneumothorax requiring drain insertion | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.8 (−2.4, 3.9) | 0.638 |
| Subcutaneous emphysema | 0.3 | 3.2 | −2.9 (−5.5, −0.3) | 0.030 |
| Low-grade complications 2,% | 28.0 | 24.2 | 3.8 (−4.0, 11.6) | 0.340 |
| High-grade complications 2,% | 7.0 | 6.4 | 0.6 (−4.0, 5.2) | 0.794 |
| ICU admission (unplanned),% | 8.8 | 12.0 | −3.2 (−8.9, 2.5) | 0.269 |
| Reoperation,% | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 (−1.1, 3.0) | 0.385 |
| Chest tube duration, days | 3.5 ± 4.4 | 3.5 ± 4.6 | 0.03 (−0.8, 0.9) | 0.937 |
| Length of hospital stay, days,% | 6.8 ± 8.6 | 6.1 ± 5.3 | 0.7 (−0.4, 1.9) | 0.223 |
| Readmission within 30 days,% | 6.7 | 4.9 | 1.8 (−2.8, 6.5) | 0.443 |
| Mortality within 30 days,% | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0 (−1.6, 1.6) | >0.99 |
| Lymph node stations dissected | 4.8 ± 2.2 | 5.9 ± 1.5 | −1.2 (−1.5, −0.8) | <0.001 |
| Lymph node upstaging,% | ||||
| cN0 to pN1 | 6.3 | 4.5 | 1.7 (−3.0, 6.5) | 0.470 |
| cN0 to pN2 | 4.5 | 6.3 | −1.7 (−5.6, 2.2) | 0.380 |
| cN1 to pN2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 (−1.7, 1.7) | >0.99 |
1 Prolonged air leak was defined as an air leak lasting longer than 7 days after the operation. 2 The Clavien–Dindo classification categorizes complications as grade I for any deviation from the normal postoperative course, grade II for those requiring pharmacological treatment, grade III for those requiring surgical, endoscopic, or radiological intervention (IIIa not under general anesthesia, IIIb under general anesthesia), and grade IV for those requiring management in the intensive care unit (IVa for single-organ failure, IVb for multiorgan failure); grade V denotes the death of a patient. Grade II or lower complications were defined as low grade; grade III or greater complications were defined as high grade. CI, confidence interval; ICU, Intensive care unit.