Total Abdominal Colectomy Versus Diverting Loop Ileostomy and Antegrade Colonic Lavage for Fulminant Clostridioides Colitis: Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample 2016-2019

BackgroundWhen surgery is indicated for fulminant Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), total abdominal colectomy (TAC) is the most common approach. Diverting loop ileostomy (DLI) with antegrade colonic lavage has been introduced as a colon-sparing surgical approach. Prior analyses of National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data suggested equivalent postoperative outcomes between groups but did not evaluate healthcare resource utilization. As such, we aimed to analyze a more recent NIS cohort to compare these two approaches in terms of both postoperative outcomes and healthcare resource utilization.MethodsA retrospective analysis of the NIS from 2016 to 2019 was conducted. The primary outcome was postoperative in-hospital morbidity. Secondary outcomes included postoperative in-hospital mortality, system-specific postoperative complications, total admission cost, and length of stay (LOS). Univariable and multivariable regressions were utilized to compare the two operative approaches.ResultsIn total, 886 patients underwent TAC and 409 patients underwent DLI with antegrade colonic lavage. Adjusted analyses demonstrated no difference between groups in postoperative in-hospital morbidity (aOR 0.96, 95%CI 0.64-1.44, p = 0.851) or in-hospital mortality (aOR 1.15, 95%CI 0.81-1.64, p = 0.436). Patients undergoing TAC experienced significantly decreased total admission cost (MD $79,715.34, 95%CI 133,841-25,588, p = 0.004) and shorter postoperative LOS (MD 4.06 days, 95%CI 6.96-1.15, p = 0.006).ConclusionsThere are minimal differences between TAC and DLI with antegrade colonic lavage for fulminant CDI in terms of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Healthcare resource utilization, however, is significantly improved when patients undergo TAC as evidenced by clinically important decreases in total admission cost and postoperative LOS.

Automated summary

This study compared the outcomes and healthcare resource utilization between total abdominal colectomy (TAC) and diverting loop ileostomy (DLI) with antegrade colonic lavage for fulminant Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data from 2016 to 2019. The results showed that there were minimal differences in postoperative morbidity and mortality between the two surgical approaches, but significantly improved healthcare resource utilization in terms of total admission cost and postoperative length of stay (LOS) in TAC patients.