Defunctioning Protective Stoma Can Reduce the Rate of Anastomotic Leakage After Low Anterior Resection in Rectal Cancer Patients

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to identify risk factors for anastomotic leakage and to evaluate the impact of protective stoma on the rate of anastomotic leakage and subsequent management.Methods: This retrospective study analyzed data from 4,282 patients who underwent low anterior resection between 2007 and 2014. Among these, 1,367 (31.9%) underwent surgery to create protective diverting stoma and 232 (5.4%) experienced anastomotic leakage. At 6-month timepoints, data were evaluated to identify any correlation between the presence of diverting stoma and the incidence of anastomotic leakage. In addition, clinicopathological parameters were investigated to identify risk factors for anastomotic leakage.Results: Diverting stomas significantly reduced the rate of anastomotic leakage (hazard ratio, 0.334; 95% confidence interval, 0.212–0.525; P<0.001], which was reciprocally correlated with the rate of diverting stoma formation (P=0.039). Patients with a diverting stoma had a significantly lower incidence of generalized peritonitis (P<0.001) and therefore significantly reduced need for laparotomy (82.7% vs. 39.1%, P<0.001).Conclusion: The selective use of diverting stoma in high-risk patients decreases the rate of anastomotic leakage. Diverting stoma also affects the type of leakage and reduces the need for emergency laparotomy by approximately 40%.