Table 3. Sensitivity 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 | 6 | 218 | 216 | -4.97 (-6.09–3.86) | <0.00001 | 22.54 | 5 | 78% | 0.0004 |
| Operative time,min | 5 | 254 | 215 | -12.09(-18.88–-5.30) | 0.0005 | 0.77 | 4 | 0% | 0.94 |
| Posterior reconstruction time,min | 4 | 158 | 156 | -0.93(-1.52–0.34) | 0.002 | 96.64 | 3 | 97% | <0.00001 |
| Postoperative leakage rate | 3 | 181 | 142 | 1.14 # (0.37–3.52) | 0.83 | 0.79 | 2 | 0% | 0.67 |
| 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 | 2 | 67 | 68 | 1.49 # (0.53–4.18) | 0.45 | 0.00 | 1 | 0% | 0.99 |
| Secondary outcomes | |||||||||
| Estimated blood loss,ml | 6 | 289 | 250 | 9.93(-11.31–31.17) | 0.36 | 13.04 | 5 | 62% | 0.02 |
| Length of catheterization,d | 4 | 143 | 141 | -0.30(-0.92–0.32) | 0.34 | 24.99 | 3 | 88% | <0.0001 |
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.