[Surgical treatment of ulcerative colitis: a 10-year retrospective analysis at a surgical referral center].

<b>Objective:</b> To investigate the clinical characteristics, postoperative complications, and risk factors for pouchitis in surgical patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). <b>Methods:</b> This was a retrospective observational study. The clinical data of 336 UC patients who had undergone surgical treatment at the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center of the Department of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School from February 2014 to February 2024 were enrolled. The study patients were stratified into 2014-2019 (<i>n</i> = 158) and 2020-2024 groups (<i>n</i> = 178), these being the periods before and after biologics were covered for treatment of UC by national insurance in China in 2020. Clinical characteristics and surgical complications were analyzed and compared between the 2014-2019 and 2020-2024 groups. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify the risk factors associated with pouchitis in UC patients undergoing total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (TPC-IPAA). <b>Results:</b> The study cohort comprised 336 UC patients, 193 (57.4%) of whom were men. The median preoperative disease course was 48.0 months and the mean age at colectomy was 46.4±15.4 years. TPC-IPAA had been performed on 275 patients (81.8%), 129 in the 2014-2019 group and 146 in the 2020-2024 group. Sixty-one patients had undergone total or subtotal colectomy, 29 in the 2014-2019 group and 32 in the 2020-2024 group. 262 (78.0%) UC patients underwent surgery due to medical refractory. Ninety-nine (29.5%) had used biopharmaceuticals within 2 months prior to surgery, 63 (18.8%) of them having received infliximab. A smaller proportion of patients had undergone surgery for UC that was refractory to medications in the 2020-2024 group than in the 2014-2019 group (73.0% [130/178] vs. 83.5% [132/158], χ²=5.384, <i>P</i>=0.020), the patients were older at colectomy (48.0±15.4 years vs. 44.6±15.2 years, <i>t</i>=-2.008, <i>P</i>=0.045), the body mass index was higher (20.2±3.1 kg/m² vs. 19.4±3.2 kg/m², <i>t</i>=-2.201, <i>P</i>=0.028), the Mayo score prior to surgery was lower (<i>M</i>[<i>Q</i>₁, <i>Q</i>₃]: 11.0 [9.2, 12.0 points] vs. 12.0 [11.0, 12.0) points, <i>Z</i>=-4.242, <i>P</i>=0.001), the rate of Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥ 3 scores was higher (27.0% [48/178] vs. 17.1% [27/158], χ²=5.384, <i>P</i>=0.020), a greater percentage of patients had received biologics prior to surgery (41.0% [73/178) vs. 16.5% [26/158], χ²=24.285, <i>P</i><0.001), and intraoperative blood loss was greater (<i>M</i>[<i>Q</i>₁, <i>Q</i>₃]: 100.0 [100.0, 150.0] ml vs. 50.0 [30.0, 100.0] ml, <i>Z</i>=-7.054, <i>P</i><0.001) despite the operation time being shorter (253.8±74.6 minutes vs. 315.2±96.8 minutes, <i>t</i>=6.265, <i>P</i><0.001). Among the 275 patients undergoing TPC-IPAA, 95 (34.6%) had early complications (within 30 days after surgery), 20 (7.3%) of which were Clavien-Dindo Grade III-IV complications. Among these patients, 50 (18.2%) had ileus or small bowel obstruction, 11 in the 2014-2019 group and 39 in the 2020-2024 group; this difference is statistically significant (χ²=15.225, <i>P</i><0.001). Ninety-one patients (33.1%) had late complications (more than 30 days after surgery), 75 (27.3%) being pouchitis (36 in the 2014-2019 group and 39 in the 2020-2024 group); this difference is not statistically significant (χ²=0.049, <i>P</i>=0.824). Five patients (1.8%) had undergone pouch excision with permanent ileostomy. Among the 61 patients who had undergone total or subtotal colectomy, 26 (42.6%) developed early postoperative complications, including 10 (16.4%) Clavien-Dindo Grade III-IV complications and one death (1.6%), the last being attributable to multiorgan dysfunction. Three patients (4.9%) had late complications; the difference in incidence of postoperative complications between the 2014-2019 and 2020-2024 groups is not statistically significant (both <i>P</i>>0.05). Multivariable analysis identified intraoperative blood transfusion (OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.19-3.75, <i>P</i>=0.010) and interval to stoma closure > 120 days (OR: 2.05, 95%CI: 1.16-3.62, <i>P</i> = 0.013) as independent risk factors for development of pouchitis in UC patients undergoing TPC-IPAA. <b>Conclusion:</b> Surgical treatment of UC remains safe in the biologics era. Proactive strategies to reduce intraoperative blood transfusion and achieve timely stoma closure may reduce the risk of pouchitis in UC patients undergoing TPC-IPAA.