Assessment of risk factors for delayed gastric emptying after distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer

The risk factors for delayed gastric emptying (DGE) following gastrectomy are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for DGE and the severity of DGE. We retrospectively evaluated 412 patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer between 2011 and 2019. The cases were classified into the DGE (n = 27) and non-DGE (n = 385) groups; the DGE group was further classified into two subgroups based on nasogastric tube insertion as an indicator of severity. For determining the relationship between resected stomach volume and DGE, we calculated the area of each surgical specimen using the ImageJ software. Female sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.55; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-5.93; P = 0.03), diabetes (OR 2.38; 95% CI 1.02-5.57; P = 0.03), and distal gastric tumors (OR 2.61; 95% CI 1.10-6.19; P = 0.02) were identified as independent risk factors by multivariate analysis. The duration of hospital stay was longer in the DGE group than in the non-DGE group (29 vs. 15 days, P < 0.01). Overall, 24 cases of DGE (89%) were found in more than 1 week following surgery. No correlation was observed between clinical features and the severity of DGE. The resected area in the DGE group was significantly larger than that in the non-DGE group (198.0 vs. 173.9 cm2, P = 0.03). In conclusion, DGE was frequently observed in females and in patients with diabetes and distal gastric tumors. Most of the DGE cases occurred after 7-14 days of surgery, patients who are discharged early should be informed to seek hospitalization if they have symptoms caused by DGE.