Objective: To investigate the efficacy of stent placement in the treatment of malignant tracheoesophageal fistula (MTEF) and the factors affecting the closure of the fistula. Methods: Clinical, pathological, laboratory, and imaging data of 288 patients with MTEF admitted to Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University from 2015 to 2021were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, there were 208 males; the age was (63.6±10.5) years. A total of 94 patients received conservative treatment (conservative group), and 194 in the stent group (170 cases with esophageal stents and 24 cases with tracheal stents). Patients were followed-up at 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months to evaluate the effect of stent implantation. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze factors affecting fistula closure. Results: Age, fistula size, leukocyte count before treatment, and fistula location were significantly different between the conservative group and the stent group (P<0.05). The Karnofsky functional status (KPS) score before treatment in the conservative group was lower than the stent group, (45.1±1.0) vs (51.8±0.7) scores, respectively (P<0.001). After 2 weeks and 1 month of treatment, improvement in KPS scores was significantly better in the stent group than in the conservative group (P<0.05). At 1 month, the pulmonary infection rate in the stent group was 33.5% (58/173), significantly lower than that in the conservative group [77.0% (47/61); P<0.001]. Among the 288 patients, the fistula was closed in 196 patients and unclosed in 92 patients. Fistula size (OR=3.429, 95%CI: 1.623-7.829, P=0.001), leukocyte count before treatment (OR=1.160, 95%CI: 1.027-1.317, P=0.018), KPS score before treatment (OR=0.898, 95%CI: 0.848-0.945, P<0.001) and the treatment method (conservative treatment as reference, esophageal stent OR=0.010, 95%CI: 0.004-0.030, P<0.001; tracheal stent OR=0.003, 95%CI: 0.000-0.042, P<0.001) were factors affecting fistula closure. In the 170 patients in the esophageal stent group, early complications (≤24 h) occurred in 71 patients, and late (>24 h) complications occurred in 11 patients. While in the 24 patients in the tracheal stent group, 9 had early complications and 2 had late complications. Conclusions: Stent placement is an effective treatment for MTEF compared to conservative treatment. Stent treatment, small fistula size, low pre-treatment leukocyte count, and high pre-treatment KPS score are beneficial to fistula closure.
目的： 探讨支架置入治疗恶性食管气管瘘（MTEF）的疗效及影响瘘口闭合的因素。 方法： 回顾性分析2015—2021年在东南大学附属中大医院就诊的288例MTEF患者的临床病理、实验室检查和影像学检查特征，其中男208例；年龄（63.6±10.5）岁；保守治疗94例，支架治疗194例（食管支架治疗170例，气管支架治疗24例）。治疗后2周、1、3、6个月进行随访，评价支架置入治疗的疗效。采用多因素logistic回归模型分析影响瘘口闭合的相关因素。 结果： 保守治疗组与支架治疗组的年龄、瘘口大小、治疗前白细胞数量以及瘘口位置的差异均有统计学意义（均P<0.05）。治疗前保守治疗组Karnofsky功能状态（KPS）评分低于支架治疗组，分别为（45.1±1.0）和（51.8±0.7）分（P<0.001）。治疗后2周和1个月，支架治疗组KPS评分的改善情况优于保守治疗组（均P<0.05）。治疗后1个月，支架治疗组的肺部感染率为33.5%（58/173），低于保守治疗组［77.0%（47/61）； P<0.001］。288例患者中，瘘口闭合196例，瘘口未闭合92例。瘘口大小（OR=3.429，95%CI：1.623~7.829，P=0.001）、治疗前白细胞数（OR=1.160，95%CI：1.027~1.317，P=0.018）、治疗前KPS评分（OR=0.898，95%CI：0.848~0.945，P<0.001）和治疗方式（以保守治疗为参照，食管支架治疗OR=0.010，95%CI：0.004~0.030，P<0.001；气管支架治疗OR=0.003，95%CI：0.000~0.042，P<0.001）是影响瘘口闭合的相关因素。170例食管支架治疗组中，出现早期（≤24 h）并发症71例，晚期（>24 h）并发症11例。24例气管支架治疗组中，出现早期并发症9例，晚期并发症2例。 结论： 与保守治疗相比，支架置入是治疗MTEF的有效方法。支架置入、瘘口直径小、治疗前白细胞数低、治疗前KPS评分高对瘘口闭合有利。.