Table 2. Results of meta-analysis comparing UBS and CS.
| Outcomes of interest | Results of the combined studies | Study heterogeneity | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studies no. | UBS patients no. | CS patients no. | WMD/OR # (95%CI) | p value* | X2 | df | I2 | p value* | |
| Primary outcomes | |||||||||
| Anastomosis time,min | 8 | 303 | 292 | -3.98 (-6.02–-1.95) | 0.0001 | 620.84 | 7 | 99% | <0.00001 |
| Operative time,min | 6 | 299 | 251 | -10.06(-15.45–-4.67) | 0.0003 | 1.70 | 5 | 0% | 0.89 |
| Posterior reconstruction time,min | 4 | 158 | 156 | -0.93(-1.52–0.34) | 0.002 | 96.64 | 3 | 97% | <0.00001 |
| Postoperative leakage rate | 4 | 226 | 178 | 2.17 # (0.86–5.50) | 0.10 | 3.5 | 3 | 14% | 0.32 |
| Continence rate at 4–6 weeks after surgery | 3 | 106 | 103 | 1.19 # (0.69–2.08) | 0.53 | 0.08 | 2 | 0% | 0.96 |
| Continence rate at 3 months after surgery | 2 | 146 | 109 | 0.93 # (0.55–1.59) | 0.80 | 0.65 | 1 | 0% | 0.42 |
| Continence rate at 6–12 months after surgery | 3 | 107 | 108 | 1.56 # (0.60–4.04) | 0.36 | 0.06 | 2 | 0% | 0.97 |
| Secondary outcomes | |||||||||
| Estimated blood loss,ml | 7 | 334 | 286 | 9.33(-7.56–26.21) | 0.28 | 13.32 | 6 | 55% | 0.04 |
| Length of catheterization,d | 5 | 188 | 177 | -0.14(-0.80–0.51) | 0.67 | 31.05 | 4 | 87% | <0.00001 |
UBS = unidirectional barbed suture; CS = conventional non-barbed suture; WMD/OR = weighted mean difference/odds ratio;df = degrees of freedom; CI = confidence interval
*Statistically significant results are showed in bold
#odds ratio.