Investigation of Epidemiology and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Enterocutaneous Fistula in China

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the epidemiology and characteristics of patients with enterocutaneous fistulas in our hospital. Methods: A single-center study was conducted in our hospital to collect data on patients with ECFs from November 27, 2013 to December 31, 2019. These data included patients’ general information, common diseases and conditions, characteristics, treatments, and outcomes. Results: Patients (N = 218) with enterocutaneous fistulas were enrolled in the study, including 152 males and 66 females (median age: 52 years). Changsha city had the largest number of patients (39.9%), 79.8% of cases had a single enterocutaneous fistula and 92.2% were related to surgeries. Gastrointestinal tumor (25.7%) was the most common primary disease, and small intestine fistula (44.0%) was the most common enterocutaneous fistula. Approximately 51.8% of patients visited tertiary hospitals first and only 22.5% received definitive surgery. However, only 57.3% of patients were cured, which was related to their first-visited hospital (p = 0.039) and undergoing definitive surgery (p = 0.024). The time from the operation to the enterocutaneous fistula diagnosis for 40.0% of patients was within 1 week after the initial operation, and the length of stay for the first hospitalization of 90.8% was one week to half a year. Some patients had complications, such as diabetes (10.1%). Our analysis showed a significant association of malnutrition with cure rate (p = 0.013). Conclusion: The cure rates of enterocutaneous fistulas were associated with the first visited hospital, definitive surgical treatment, and malnutrition