[Factors associated with jejunostomy complications]

There are few studies in the literature that analyze jejunostomy complications and their associated factors.

To describe the rate of complications and analyze the factors associated with their development in a tertiary reference center in Mexico.

A retrospective study was carried out on patients that underwent Witzel jejunostomy within the time frame of January 2002 to December 2011. Patient demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected at the time of hospital admission and during follow-up. The factors associated with the development of complications were analyzed using the chi square test for categorical variables and the Student's t test for the continuous variables. Statistical significance was considered with a p<.05.

One hundred and twelve patients (57 men) with a mean age of 54.2 years were included in the study. Forty-eight patients (42.9%) presented with postoperative complications. The most frequent surgical complications were severe sepsis (11.6%) and septic shock (7.14%) and the most frequent medical complications were pleural effusion (7.14%) and aspiration pneumonia (6.25%). The factors that were significantly associated with the development of complications were obesity, lymphocytopenia, and hypoalbuminemia.

Jejunostomy is associated with an elevated medical, as well as surgical, complication frequency. Even though it has been established as a better alternative to parenteral nutrition, its associated morbidity should be taken into consideration before establishing its routine use as a means of nutritional support, especially in patients with factors associated with the development of complications.