Table 2.
Clinical findings after esophagectomy.
| Characteristics | GCG (n = 25) | HCG (n = 25) | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operative approach, thoracotomy (%)/thoracoscopy (%) | 3 (12.0)/22 (88.0) | 5 (20.0)/20(80.0) | 0.351b |
| Lymphadenectomy, two- field dissection (%)/three-field dissection (%) | 0 (0.0)/25 (100.0) | 8 (32.0)/ 17 (68.0) | 0.002b |
| Operative time [min (IQR)] | 650.0 (572.0–697.0) | 549.0 (504.5–579.0) | 0.001a |
| Operative bleeding [mL (IQR)] | 130.0 (80.0–222.5) | 150.0 (95.0–325.0) | 0.327a |
| Intubation days [days (IQR)] | 1.0 (0.0–1.0) | 1.0 (1.0–1.0) | 0.005a |
| Postoperative fasting days [days (IQR)] | 11.0 (9.0–13.5) | 9.0 (8.0–12.0) | 0.036a |
| Postoperative pneumonia ( +) | 5 (20.0) | 5 (20.0) | 0.637b |
| Postoperative aspiration ( +) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (12.0) | 0.117b |
| Postoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy ( +) | 4 (16.0) | 2 (8.0) | 0.334b |
| Postoperative anastomotic leakage ( +) | 1 (4.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0.500b |
| ICU stays [day (IQR)] | 4.0 (4.0–4.0) | 6.0 (5.0–6.0) | 0.000a |
| Postoperative hospital stays [day (IQR)] | 23.0 (20.0–27.5) | 19.0 (16.0–21.5) | 0.005a |
| Postoperative WBC count [103/µL (IQR)] | 6.67 (5.68–8.20) | 6.60 (5.81–8.00) | 0.923a |
| Postoperative CRP concentration [mg/dL (IQR)] | 0.44 (0.30–1.13) | 0.74 (0.315–2.485) | 0.277a |
| Postoperative albumin concentration [g/dL (IQR)] | 3.2 (3.0–3.4) | 3.2 (3.1–3.4) | 0.952a |
| BMI at 2 weeks after esophagectomy, median [kg/m2 (IQR)] | 22.4 (20.1–24.0) | 20.9 (18.8–22.1) | 0.086a |
| RSST score at 2 weeks after esophagectomy (IQR) | 5.0 (3.5–6.0) | 4.0 (2.5–4.0) | 0.004a |
| Tongue pressure [kPa (IQR)] | 37.6 (31.7–41.7) | 33.0 (28.8–38.7) | 0.157a |
GCG gum-chewing group, HCG historical control group, ICU intensive care unit, IQR interquartile range, BMI body mass index, RSST repetitive saliva swallowing test,
aMann–Whitney U test, bFisher’s exact test.