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AIM: Fashioning a defunctioning stoma is common when performing an anterior resection for rectal cancer in order to avoid and mitigate the consequences of an anastomotic leakage. We investigated the permanent stoma prevalence, factors influencing stoma outcome and complication rates following stoma reversal surgery.

METHOD: Patients who had undergone an anterior resection for rectal cancer between 2007 and 2013 in the northern healthcare region were identified using the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry and were followed until the end of 2014 regarding stoma outcome. Data were retrieved by a review of medical records. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate predefined risk factors for stoma permanence. Risk factors for non-reversal of a defunctioning stoma were also analysed, using Cox proportional-hazards regression.

RESULTS: A total of 316 patients who underwent anterior resection were included, of whom 274 (87%) were defunctioned primarily. At the end of the follow-up period 24% had a permanent stoma, and 9% of patients who underwent reversal of a stoma experienced major complications requiring a return to theatre, need for intensive care or mortality. Anastomotic leakage and tumour Stage IV were significant risk factors for stoma permanence. In this series, partial mesorectal excision correlated with a stoma-free outcome. Non-reversal was considerably more prevalent among patients with leakage and Stage IV; Stage III patients at first had a decreased reversal rate, which increased after the initial year of surgery.

CONCLUSION: Stoma permanence is common after anterior resection, while anastomotic leakage and advanced tumour stage decrease the chances of a stoma-free outcome. Stoma reversal surgery entails a significant risk of major complications.

Background: A permanent stoma after anterior resection for rectal cancer is common. Nationwide registries provide sufficient power to evaluate factors influencing this phenomenon, but validation is required to ensure the quality of registry-based stoma outcomes.

Methods: Patients who underwent anterior resection for rectal cancer in the Northern healthcare region of Sweden between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2013 were reviewed by medical records and followed until 31 December 2014 with regard to stoma outcome. A registry-based method to determine nationwide long-term stoma outcomes, using data from the National Patient Registry and the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry, was developed and internally validated using the chart reviewed reference cohort. Accuracy was evaluated with positive and negative predictive values and Kappa values. Following validation, the stoma outcome in all patients treated with an anterior resection for rectal cancer in Sweden during the study period was estimated. Possible regional differences in determined stoma outcomes between the six Swedish healthcare regions were subsequently evaluated with the χ² test.

Results: With 312 chart reviewed patients as reference, stoma outcome was accurately predicted through the registry-based method in 299 cases (95.8%), with a positive predictive value of 85.1% (95% CI 75.8%-91.8%), and a negative predictive value of 100.0% (95% CI 98.4%-100.0%), while the Kappa value was 0.89 (95% CI 0.82-0.95). In Sweden, 4768 patients underwent anterior resection during the study period, of which 942 (19.8%) were determined to have a permanent stoma. The stoma rate varied regionally between 17.8-29.2%, to a statistically significant degree (p = .001).

Conclusion: Using data from two national registries to determine long-term stoma outcome after anterior resection for rectal cancer proved to be reliable in comparison to chart review. Permanent stoma prevalence after such surgery remains at a significant level, while stoma outcomes vary substantially between different healthcare regions in Sweden.