Background: This study aimed to define the incidence and risk factors of postoperative morbidity and mortality after pouch excision (PE).
Methods: ACS-NSQIP database was queried for patients who underwent PE between 2005 and 2015. Main outcome measures were 30-day mortality, major morbidity, overall surgical site infections (SSI), reoperation, and length of stay (LOS). Risk factors associated with these outcomes were assessed using multivariate logistic or quantile regression.
Results: Three hundred eighty-one patients underwent PE (mean age 47.7(±15.3) years; 51.7% female). Mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.6(±5.7) kg/m2, 55.4% were ASA class 1-2 and 18.4% were immunosuppressed. Mean operative time was 252(±112.7) min, 98% were elective cases, and median LOS was 7(5-11) days. Twenty-eight percent experienced major morbidity, including SSIs (21.5% overall, 9.2% superficial, 3.7% deep, 10.3% organ space), sepsis (9.5%), urinary tract infection (5.8%), and postoperative pneumonia (2.4%). The observed venous thromboembolism rate was low, with 0.5 and 0.8% of patients suffering pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, respectively; 5.5% required reoperation. Postoperative mortality was 0.8%. On multivariate logistic regression, smoking (OR 3.03 [95% CI 1.56, 5.88]) and operative time (OR 1.003 [95% CI 1.0003, 1.0005) were associated with increased odds of major morbidity. Smoking (OR 3.29 [95% CI 1.65, 6.54]) and operative time (OR 1.002 [95% CI 1.000, 1.004]) were independent risk factors for overall SSI. LOS was significantly increased in patients with major morbidity (3.29 days [95% CI 1.60, 4.99]) and increased operative time (0.013 days [95% CI 0.007, 0.018]).
Conclusions: PE is an operation with significant risk of morbidity. However, mortality was low in the present cohort of patients. Patients who were smokers and had longer operative time had increased risk of overall infectious complications and major morbidity. Furthermore, major morbidity and operative time were associated with increased hospital length of stay following PE.
Keywords: ACS NSQIP database; Ileal pouch excision; Major morbidity; Mortality; Smoking; Surgical site infection.