These results are similar to those of previous meta-analyses, which showed that nasogastric decompression brings no benefit in non-pancreatic abdominal surgery, such as esophagectomy [
7], gastrectomy [
8,
10], or colorectal resection [
12,
30]. In esophagectomy, in a systematic analysis of 608 patients, Weijs et al. showed no significant difference in adverse outcomes between nasogastric decompression or no nasogastric decompression following esophagectomy [
7]. In gastrectomy for gastric cancer, Yang et al., with a meta-analysis of 717 patients from five RCTs, found that time to oral diet was significantly shortened in the no-decompression group, while time to flatus, anastomotic leakage, pulmonary complications, length of hospital stay, morbidity, and mortality were similar in both groups [
8]. The finding was further confirmed by Wei et al. [
10]. In a meta-analysis of 1141 patients, which found that nasogastric or nasojejunal decompression neither facilitated the recovery of bowel function nor reduced the risk of postoperative complications after gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Although the absence of routine placement of RGD has been clearly proved in other digestive surgeries and is now recommended after pancreatic surgery (including PD) by ERAS [
31], routine nasogastric tube decompression is still practiced by many surgeons treating pancreatic cancer. This phenomenon can be attributed to several reasons. First, previous studies on the necessity of RGD after pancreatic resections were single-institution, retrospective studies with relatively small sample sizes. Therefore, the ERAS recommendation is based only on moderate evidence. Second, the high morbidity after pancreatic resection contributes to this practice. DGE is one of the most common complications after pancreatic surgery, especially following PD, which negatively impacts the quality of life, prolongs the hospital stay, and increases hospital costs. Although its pathophysiology remains unclear, it has discouraged many surgeons from abandoning this practice. Routine nasogastric tube placement after abdominal surgery is thought to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting and abdominal distention by gastric decompression; these are the core symptoms of DGE. Third, because NG tube has been used following gastrointestinal anastomoses for several decades, it is difficult to change the clinical habit and radically stop using routine gastric decompression [
32,
33].
Instead of absolutely prohibiting RGD after pancreatic surgery, some surgeons preferred a more conservative method, namely selective NGT usage, such as when they unable to extubate the patient postoperatively [
20]. In their retrospective study with 250 patients, Kunstman et al. found that patients in the selective use of RGD had decreased incidence of delayed gastric emptying, length of stay, and time to dietary tolerance [
20]. Nevertheless, the authors agreed that RGD could be omitted in many cases.
Previous studies in non-pancreatic surgery have found that pulmonary complications, such as atelectasis and pneumonia, occur more frequently in patients with a nasogastric tube than in those without. These findings were also confirmed in pancreatic resections; however, because only two studies reported this complication, a meta-analysis was not done in this study.