Short-term outcomes of low anterior resection with and without ileostomy for low, mid and upper rectal cancers

Although the addition of an ileostomy to low anterior resection (LAR) may often be considered preventative of anastomotic leakage (AL), evidence that clearly demonstrates such benefit is lacking. This study aimed to identify the impact of adding an ileostomy upon AL and organ-space surgical site infection (SSI) rates in patients with lower, middle, or upper rectal cancer. This case-control study included rectal cancer patients who had undergone elective LAR in the American College of Surgeons-National Surgical Quality Improvement Program dataset between 2016 and 2022. Patients with lower, middle, and upper tumors were identified and analyzed according to whether an ileostomy was added or not. Patients' pre-, intra-, and short-term post-operative data were compared using univariable and multivariable methods. A total of 4048 patients (61.6% males) with a mean age of 60 years, whereof 1166 with lower, 1836 with middle, and 1046 with upper tumors were identified. An ileostomy was added in 2804 (69.3%) patients. Patients with upper tumors had an ileostomy added less frequently (78.5%vs 74.5% vs 49.9%, p < 0.001). The overall AL and organ-space SSI rates were 4.3% and 6.7%. There were no statistically significant differences in AL and organ-space SSI rates (requiring or not requiring re-intervention or re-operation) between patients with and without ileostomy regardless of tumor location. Multivariable logistic regression controlling for confounding variables showed no association between adding an ileostomy and AL and organ-space SSI rates (requiring or not requiring re-intervention or re-operation) regardless of tumor location. This case-control study did not find any evidence in support of a preventative impact upon AL and organ-space SSI rates of adding an ileostomy to LAR in patients with lower, middle, or upper rectal cancer.