Background and study aims: Ileorectal anastomosis (IRA) is one option for restoring bowel continuity in patients who have undergone subtotal colectomy for ulcerative colitis (UC). This systematic review aims to assess short- and long-term outcomes after IRA for UC, including anastomotic leak rates, IRA failure (as defined by conversion to pouch or end stoma), cancer risk in the rectal remnant, and quality of life (QoL) post-IRA surgery.
Materials & methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis checklist was used to demonstrate the search strategy. A systematic review of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar from 1946 to August 2022 was undertaken.
Results: This systematic review included 20 studies, representing 2538 patients who underwent IRA for UC. The mean age ranged from 25 to 36 years and the mean postoperative follow-up ranged between 7 and 22 years. The overall leak rate reported across 15 studies was 3.9 % (n = 35/907) ranging from 0 % to 16.7 %. The failure of IRA (requiring conversion to pouch or end stoma) as reported across 18 of the studies was 20.4 % (n = 498/2447). The risk of developing cancer in the remaining rectal stump following IRA was reported by 14 studies and was accumulatively 2.4 % (n = 30/1245). Five studies reported on patient QoL using a variety of different instruments and 66.0 % of patients (n = 235/356) reported a "high" QoL score.
Conclusion: IRA was associated with a relatively low leak rate and a low risk of colorectal cancer in the rectal remnant. However, it does carry a significant failure rate which invariably requires conversion to an end stoma or the formation of an ileoanal pouch. IRA provided a QoL to most of the patients.
Keywords: Anastomotic leak; Ileo-rectal anastomosis; Quality of life; Ulcerative colitis.
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