Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and postoperative outcomes in patients who underwent colonic resection for sigmoid diverticulitis (SD).
Background: The potential impact of socioeconomic inequalities on the management of SD has been scarcely studied in the literature. Considering other gastrointestinal pathologies for which lesser access to optimal treatment and poorer survival have been shown, we hypothesize that deprivation could be associated with outcomes for SD.
Methods: This multicenter retrospective study was conducted at 41 French hospitals between January 1, 2010, and August 31, 2021. The main outcome was the occurrence of severe postoperative complications on postoperative day 90, according to the Clavien-Dindo scale (≥3). The European Deprivation Index was used to approximate deprivation for each patient. Multiple imputations by a chained equation were performed to consider the influence of missing data on the results.
Results: Twenty percent of the 6415 patients operated on had severe postoperative complications at 90 days. In the multivariate regression analysis, increasing age, male sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists score ≥3, conversion to laparotomy or upfront open approach, surgical procedures, and perioperative transfusion were independent risk factors for severe postoperative complications. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, emergent setting, blood transfusion, indications for surgery, surgical approach, and procedures, the probability of severe postoperative complications increased with socioeconomic deprivation (P=0.026) by day 90.
Conclusions: This study highlights the potential influence of socioeconomic deprivation on the surgical outcomes of SD. Socioeconomic deprivation should be considered as a risk factor for severe postoperative complications during the preoperative assessment of the patient's medical conditions.
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