Predictors of outcomes of endoscopic balloon dilatation in strictures after esophageal atresia repair: A retrospective study

Table 1 Characteristics of enrolled patients and strictures

Characteristic		Patients (n = 64), n (%)
Sex	Male	34 (53.1)
	Female	30 (46.9)
Age at surgery (h)	Median 3.15 (2.89-6.17)
Body weight at operation (kg)	Median 2.73 (1.62-3.55)
Post-repair complications	Gastroesophageal reflux	31 (48.4)
	Anastomotic leakage	8 (12.5)
	Recurrent tracheoesophageal fistula	3 (4.7)
	Tracheomalacia	2 (3.1)
	Vocal cord paralysis	0 (0)
Stricture length	≤ 2 cm	14 (21.9)
	2-5 cm	42 (65.6)
	≥ 5 cm	8 (12.5)
Number of strictures	Single	58 (90.6)
	Multiple	6 (9.4)
Location of stricture	Upper third esophageal	10 (15.6)
	Middle third esophageal	24 (37.5)
	Lower third esophageal	30 (46.9)

Table 2 Outcomes of endoscopic balloon dilatation

Outcome			Results (n = 64)
Age at first EBD (mo)			5.45 ± 0.31
Interval1 (mo)			5.43 ± 0.29
Sessions			2.19 ± 0.24
Follow-up (mo)			42.88 ± 14.30
Diameter (mm)	Before first EBD		2.93 ± 0.37
	After final EBD		10.05 ± 0.34
	P value		0.014
Success	Success		62 (96.9%)
	Failure		2 (3.1%)
Complications	Perforation		4 (6.45%)
	Bleeding		2 (3.23%)
	Reflux esophagitis		1 (1.61%)
	Infection		1 (1.61%)
	Multiple		2 (3.23%)
	Total		5 (8.06%)
	No complications		57 (91.9%)
Response	Effective	Remission	54 (87.10%)
		Relief	6 (9.68%)
		Total	60 (96.77%)
	Ineffective		2 (3.23%)
Recurrence	No relapse		58 (96.67%)
	Relapse		2 (3.33%)

¹Interval between first endoscopic balloon dilatation and surgery/injury/symptom onset. EBD: Endoscopic balloon dilatation.

Table 3 Correlations between outcomes of endoscopic balloon dilatation and risk factors

Outcome	Interval1 (mo)		Diameter before EBD (cm)
	rs2	P value	rs	P value
Complications	0.011	0.645	-0.406	0.023
Response	-0.174	0.348	0.219	0.237
Recurrence	0.162	0.383	-0.150	0.421
Sessions	0.015	0.934	-0.271	0.013

¹Interval between first endoscopic balloon dilatation and surgery/injury/symptom onset.

²Rank correlation coefficient. EBD: Endoscopic balloon dilatation.

Table 4 Factors predicting outcomes of endoscopic balloon dilatation treatment

Out-comes	Length					Number of strictures				Sessions
	≤ 2 cm, n = 42	2-5 cm, n = 14	≥ 5 cm, n = 8	Statistic value	P value	Single, n = 58	Multiple, n = 6	Statistic value	P value	≤ 2, n = 46	> 2, n = 18	Statistic value	P value
Complications (n)	0	2	3	χ2 = 13.025	0.001	2	3	OR = 14.5	0.004	3	2	OR = 0.587	0.615
Respon-se (score)	-2.21 ± 0.51	-2.17 ± 0.39	-2.17 ± 0.43	F = 1.431	0.313	-2.18 ± 0.41	-2.15 ± 0.65	F = 2.178	0.180	-2.21 ± 0.52	-2.19 ± 0.47	F = 3.211	0.487
Recurr-ence (n)	0	0	2	χ2 = 8.802	0.012	1	1	OR = 9.667	0.180	1	1	OR = 0.391	0.487
Sessions (mean ± SD)	1.95 ± 0.28	2.57 ± 0.43	2.75 ± 0.62	F = 1.729	0.416	2.04 ± 0.22	4.12 ± 0.67	F = 6.797	0.014

SD: Standard deviation; OR: Odds ratio.

Table 5 Correlations between risk factors and outcomes in patients with anastomotic esophageal strictures

Outcome	Interval1 (mo)		Sessions		Length (cm)		Diameter before EBD (cm)
	Coefficient	P value	Coefficient	P value	Coefficient	P value	Coefficient	P value
Complications	0.324	0.587	0.006	0.858	0.616	0.031	0.724	0.012
Response	-0.527	0.024	-0.019	0.672	-0.324	0.437	-0.319	0.346
Recurrence	0.162	0.453	0.135	0.446	0.255	0.615	0.151	0.627
Sessions	0.338	0.017			-0.312	0.411	0.612	0.031

¹Interval between first endoscopic balloon dilatation and surgery/injury/symptom onset. EBD: Endoscopic balloon dilatation.