Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes of Colonic Stent as “Bridge to Surgery” and Emergency Surgery for Malignant Large-Bowel Obstruction: A Meta-Analysis

Background: The short-term safety and efficacy of insertion of a self-expandable metallic colonic stent followed by elective surgery, bridge to surgery (BTS), for malignant large-bowel obstruction (MLBO) have been well described. However, long-term oncological outcomes are still debated. Hence, this study is conducted to evaluate long-term outcomes of colonic stent insertion followed by surgery for MLBO.

Methods: A comprehensive electronic literature search through May 2014 was performed to identify studies comparing long-term outcomes between BTS and emergency surgery for MLBO. The main outcome measures were overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and recurrence. A meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models to calculate risk ratios (RRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs).

Results: There were 11 studies that matched the criteria for inclusion, yielding a total of 1136 patients, of whom 432 (38.0 %) underwent BTS and 704 (62.0 %) underwent emergency surgery. In OS analyses of all patients and patients who underwent curative resection, BTS was similar to emergency surgery [(RR = 0.95; 95 % CI 0.75–1.21; P = 0.66) (RR = 0.96; 95 % CI 0.67–1.37; P = 0.82), respectively]. DFS (RR = 1.06; 95 % CI 0.91–1.24; P = 0.43) and recurrence (RR = 1.13; 95 % CI 0.82–1.54; P = 0.46) did not differ significantly between the BTS and emergency surgery groups.

Conclusions: Results of this meta-analysis on long-term as well as well-described short-term outcomes suggest that BTS could be a promising alternative strategy for MLBO patients.