Early and Late Closure of Loop Ileostomies: A Retrospective Comparative Outcomes Analysis.

The optimal timing of loop ileostomy reversal remains largely unknown, but evidence that delayed ileostomy closure may increase postoperative complication rates is increasing.

Purpose: Retrospective research was conducted to compare outcomes between patients who had early (<6 months) or late (>6 months) loop ileostomy closure.

Methods: Records of patients >18 years of age who underwent circumstomal reversal of a loop ileostomy over a period of 5 years in 1 hospital's colorectal unit were abstracted and analyzed. Data from patients who had a planned or conversion to laparotomy, a concurrent bowel resection, reversal of double-barrel small bowel and colonic stomas, or closure of an end ileostomy or patients whose records were incomplete were excluded. Demographic information, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, primary operation indication, surgery and inpatient dates, readmission within 30 days of discharge, reasons for readmission, complication type, and Clavien-Dindo classification were extracted and compared between early and late closure groups using independent-sample t test and Fisher's exact test.

Results: Among the 75 study participants, 25 had an early closure (mean age 68.6 [range 26 - 93] years, mean time since primary surgery 3.8 months) and 50 had a late closure procedure (mean age 71.6 [range 46 - 93] years, mean time since primary surgery 12.8 months). Gender distribution, ASA grades, primary surgery indication, and total number of readmissions were similar between the 2 groups. Hospital length of stay was significantly shorter (5.5 days vs 9.4 days; P = .01) and average number of complications was significantly lower (0.33 vs 0.61; P = .04) in the early closure group. Rates of postoperative ileus, anastomotic bleed, and wound-related complications were not significantly different.

Conclusion: Hospital length of stay and average number of postoperative complications following circumstomal loop ileostomy closure were significantly lower in the early than in the late closure group. Additional studies are warranted to help guide practice.