Short-term outcomes of preoperative computed tomography angiography versus standard assessment in patients with BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 undergoing laparoscopic gastrectomy: the GISSG20-01 randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND

Laparoscopic gastrectomy lacks hand-direct tactile sense and has a limited surgical field compared to laparotomy. Apart from textbook classification, there are anatomical variations in the gastric arteries. Laparoscopic gastrectomy presents technical difficulties and necessitates a more comprehensive comprehension of regional anatomy than open surgical procedures. We aimed to compare efficacy and safety of preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA) associated with surgical decision-making for laparoscopic gastrectomy.

METHODS

The GISSG 20-01 study was a multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial. The enrollment criteria mainly included histologically confirmed gastric cancer patients with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to the CTA group or the non-CTA group in a 1:1 ratio. The primary endpoint was the volume of intraoperative blood loss.

RESULTS

Between November 2020 and December 2021, 382 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned. After exclusion of 25 patients, 357 patients were included in the modified intention-to-treat population (179 in the CTA group and 178 in the non-CTA group). The mean intraoperative blood loss (CTA vs non-CTA; 74.2 vs 95.0 mL, P = 0.005) and operation time (215.4 vs 231.2 min, P = 0.004) was significantly lower in the CTA group. Total number of retrieved lymph nodes was similar in two groups (32.2 vs 30.2, P = 0.070). The CTA group had a significantly lower surgery task load index sore than the non-CTA group (36.6 vs 41.7, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in postoperative complications rate of 14.5% in the CTA group and 22.5% in the non-CTA group (difference, - 8.0% [95% CI, - 16.0 to 0.1]; P = 0.053).

CONCLUSION

Preoperative CTA associated with surgical decision-making could relieve surgery burden and lead to a better surgical performance compared with non-CTA support, which including decreased blood loss volume, vessel damage and operation time.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04636099.