Skip to main content
. 2019 Sep 26;2019(9):CD013438. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013438

Horikoshi 2017.

Methods RCT, parallel design
Participants Total number of randomized participants: 40
Inclusion criteria: ASA I or II; scheduled to undergo oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer
Exclusion criteria: people with cardiac disease (e.g. arrhythmias including AF, conduction abnormalities, antiarrhthymic medications including beta‐blockers, recent angina pectoris, and MI); pulmonary or renal disease; thyroid dysfunction
Type of surgery: elective oesophagectomy
Baseline characteristics
Intervention group (landiolol)
  • Age, mean (SD): 67 (± 7) years

  • Gender, M/F: 15/4

  • History of hypertension, n: 6


Control group (placebo)
  • Age, mean (SD): 63 (± 8) years

  • Gender, M/F: 18/2

  • History of hypertension, n: 8


Country: Japan
Setting: single centre; university hospital
Interventions Intervention group (landiolol)
  • Randomized, n = 20; losses = 1 (due to data collection error); analysed, n = 19 (ITT analysis not used)

  • Details: 5 µg/kg/min landiolol from induction of anaesthesia until morning of the 1st postoperative day


Control group (placebo)
  • Randomized, n = 20; losses = 0; analysed, n = 20

  • Details: saline given same as the intervention group

Outcomes Outcomes measured/reported by study authors: AF (reported after surgery, on 1st postoperative day, and 2nd postoperative day), sinus tachycardia; haemodynamic variables; plasma cytokines concentration in blood; bradycardia (not defined); hypotension (not defined); heart failure; cardiogenic shock; length of hospital stay
Outcomes relevant to the review: AF (2nd postoperative day), hypotension; bradycardia; length of hospital stay; congestive heart failure
Notes Funding/declarations of interest: no external funding sources, and study authors declare no conflicts
Study dates: April 2012‐January 2015
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Low risk Use of computer‐generated random numbers
Allocation concealment (selection bias) Low risk See above
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) 
 All outcomes Low risk Anaesthesiologists and surgeons were blinded to group assignment
Blinding of outcome assessors (detection bias) 
 All outcomes Unclear risk Not specfied
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) 
 All outcomes Low risk Loss of participant, ITT analysis not used
Selective reporting (reporting bias) Unclear risk Retrospective clinical trial registration (UMIN000020238). Not feasible to assess risk of reporting bias from these documents
Other bias Low risk Not detected