The Burden of Gastrointestinal Anastomotic Leaks: an Evaluation of Clinical and Economic Outcomes

Objective

To evaluate the clinical and economic burden associated with anastomotic leaks following colorectal surgery.

Methods

Retrospective data (January 2008 to December 2010) were analyzed from patients who had colorectal surgery with and without postoperative leaks, using the Premier Perspective? database. Data on in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), re-admissions, postoperative infection, and costs were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses, and the propensity score matching (PSM) and generalized linear models (GLM).

Results

Of the patients, 6,174 (6.18 %) had anastomotic leaks within 30 days after colorectal surgery. Patients with leaks had 1.3 times higher 30-day re-admission rates and 0.8–1.9 times higher postoperative infection rates as compared with patients without leaks (P?Conclusions Anastomotic leaks in colorectal surgery increase the total clinical and economic burden by a factor of 0.6–1.9 for a 30-day re-admission, postoperative infection, LOS, and hospital costs.