. 2006 Dec 21;12(47):7676–7683. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i47.7676

Table 4.

Clinical course after operation

Outcome	Type of studies included in the meta-analysis	Trials (n)	Patients (n)	Pooled results WMD (95% CI)	Interpretation	Test for heterogeneity
Bowel function recovery	RCTs	3	103	-0.68 (-1.26, -0.09) Z = 2.27, P = 0.02	L < C	χ² = 7.55, df = 2 P = 0.02, I² = 73.5%
	Overall	12	1296	-0.68 (-0.85, -0.50) Z = 7.63, P < 0.001	L < C	χ² = 39.6, df = 11 P < 0.001, I² = 72.2%
Frequency of analgesic requirement	RCTs	3	103	-1.69 (-2.18, -1.21) Z = 6.82, P < 0.001	L < C	χ² = 0.12, df = 2 P = 0.94, I² = 0%
	Overall	6	394	-1.36 (-2.44, -0.28) Z = 2.48, P = 0.01	L < C	χ² = 40.6, df = 5 P < 0.001, I² = 87.7%
No. of days with temperatures more than 37°C	Overall	5	292	-1.25 (-1.69, -0.82) Z = 5.64, P < 0.001	L < C	χ² = 2.05, df = 4 P = 0.73, I² = 0%
Duration of hospital stay	RCTs	4	162	-3.32 (-7.69, 1.05) Z = 1.49, P = 0.14	L = C	χ² = 33.5, df = 3 P < 0.001, I² = 91.1%
	Overall	15	1531	-5.51 (-7.61, -3.42) Z = 5.16, P < 0.001	L < C	χ² = 280.7, df = 14 P < 0.001, I² = 95.0%
WBC (POD 1)	Overall	7	466	-1409.5 (-1934.6, -884.4) Z = 5.26, P < 0.001	L < C	χ² = 5.63 , df = 6 P = 0.47, I² = 0%
WBC (POD 3)	Overall	5	346	-1028.1 (-1578.7, -477.4) Z = 3.66, P < 0.001	L < C	χ² = 4.18, df = 4 P = 0.38, I² = 4.2%
WBC (POD 7)	Overall	4	319	-280.1 (-751.7, 191.5) Z = 1.16, P = 0.24	L = C	χ² = 1.73, df = 3 P = 0.63, I² = 0%
CRP (POD 1)	Overall	5	267	-1.33 (-2.20, -0.46) Z = 3.01, P = 0.003	L < C	χ² = 7.24, df = 4 P = 0.12, I² = 44.8%
CRP (POD 3)	Overall	4	199	-3.71 (-6.61, -0.80) Z = 2.50, P = 0.01	L < C	χ² = 24.4, df = 3 P < 0.001, I² = 87.7%
CRP (POD 7)	Overall	3	172	-1.33 (-2.90, 0.25) Z = 1.65, P = 0.10	L = C	χ² = 8.36, df = 2 P = 0.02, I² = 76.1%

L: Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy; C: Conventional open distal gastrectomy; RCTs: Randomized controlled trials; CRP: C-reactive protein; POD: Postoperative day; WMD: Weighted mean difference; CI: Confidence intervals; df: Degree of freedom.