Table 2.
Descriptive data of the number of complications (events) and total number of patients as well as the outcomes of heterogeneity and inconsistency analyses.
| Outcome | k ∗ | Events/total | Within designs (heterogeneity) | Between designs (inconsistency) | Consistency¥ | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIEP | FTRAM | PTRAM | SEIA | Q | p | Q | p | Q | p | ||
| Donor hernia/bulge | 18 | 115/4726 | 247/4554 | 218/2773 | 0/154 | 17.01 | 0.149 | 24.19 | 0.002 | 41.20 | 0.004 |
| Donor wound infection | 4 | 191/3991 | 155/2635 | 188/2589 | 9/71 | NA | NA | 4.43 | 0.351 | 4.43 | 0.351 |
| Flap fat necrosis | 19 | 253/1679 | 414/2454 | 137/596 | 25/228 | 88.07 | <0.0001 | 11.94 | 0.102 | 1.60 | 0.979 |
| Mastectomy flap necrosis | 7 | 47/663 | 53/1107 | 15/158 | 7/140 | 2.05 | 0.562 | 1.52 | 0.678 | 1.52 | 0.678 |
| Flap hematoma | 13 | 624/15452 | 250/9008 | 150/7639 | 45/549 | 47.49 | <0.0001 | 35.21 | <0.0001 | 12.51 | 0.028 |
| Flap total thrombotic event | 4 | 2124/8312 | 146/7171 | NA | 50/410 | NA | NA | 15.32 | 0.002 | 15.32 | 0.002 |
| Partial flap loss | 12 | 166/7390 | 351/6330 | 68/5581 | 6/385 | 43.94 | <0.0001 | 14.85 | 0.005 | 0.22 | 0.994 |
| Total flap loss | 14 | 133/7493 | 63/6310 | 44/5606 | 8/395 | 15.37 | 0.119 | 12.70 | 0.048 | 6.60 | 0.359 |
| Flap wound infection | 8 | 41/891 | 33/908 | 28/380 | 5/150 | 1.88 | 0.598 | 2.48 | 0.779 | 2.48 | 0.778 |
∗ The number of studies in each comparison; ¥consistency under the assumption of a full design-by-treatment interaction random-effects model.