Acute Colonic Diverticulitis and Cirrhosis: Outcomes of Laparoscopic Colectomy Compared with an Open Approach

The impact of cirrhosis on outcomes of acute colonic diverticulitis (ACD) has been studied infrequently. We investigated the effect of cirrhosis on outcomes of surgical patients with ACD treated by either an open or laparoscopic approach.

A cross-sectional study was performed using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2012 to 2014. Patients with ACD were stratified into compensated and decompensated cirrhosis for comparisons of demographic characteristics, hospital length of stay, complications, mortality, and cost. Groups were stratified according to surgical treatment: open colectomy and laparoscopic colectomy. A comparative effectiveness analysis of outcomes was performed between the 2 surgical treatments. Univariate comparisons between groups and multivariate regression analysis were performed to identify risk factors for mortality and specific complications.

Of 1,172,875 patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of ACD during the study period, 1,145 were cirrhotic. The majority were male (59%). There were 660 compensated cirrhotic patients and 485 decompensated cirrhotic patients and all underwent either open (n = 875) or laparoscopic colectomy (n = 270). Consistently, marked increases in mortality, hospital length of stay, and cost were observed in decompensated cirrhotic patients regardless of the type of treatment. Laparoscopic colectomy was accompanied by shorter hospital length of stay, lower costs, and significantly decreased mortality rate compared with open colectomy in compensated and decompensated cirrhotic patients.

The presence of cirrhosis markedly impacts outcomes in patients with ACD, leading to prolonged hospitalization, higher cost, and increased complications and deaths. Laparoscopic colectomy is associated with better outcomes in patients requiring surgical management, including those with decompensated cirrhosis.