Colonic Stent Use by Indication and Patient Outcomes: A Nationwide Inpatient Sample Study

Colonic stent placement can avoid urgent surgery for large bowel obstruction in selected patients. Population-wide stent utilization patterns and outcomes are unknown.

Using retrospective, population-based, Nationwide Inpatient Sample data, we studied patients with colonic stents discharged during 2010-2015. The primary outcome was ostomy creation during the same hospitalization. Other outcomes were perforation or peritonitis, and in-hospital death. Associations of outcomes with stent indication were investigated, adjusting for patient-, admission-, and hospital characteristics. We estimated annual population-wide stent use volumes.

Of 4257 patients with stent placement (52% male, mean age 64.6 years), 9.9% had non-metastatic colon cancer, 12.9% metastatic colon cancer, 37.8% extracolonic malignancy (ECM), and 39.3% had benign obstruction. In 8.1% of patients, ostomy creation surgery was performed. Perforation or peritonitis occurred in 16.7%, and in-hospital death in 4.5%. Relative to ECM, ostomy creation was several-fold more likely among nonmetastatic colon cancer (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 3.4; 95%CI, 2.1-5.5), metastatic colon cancer (adjusted OR 2.5; 95%CI, 1.7-3.7), and benign obstruction patients (adjusted OR 3.1; 95%CI, 2.1-4.7). Benign obstruction was associated with high risk of perforation/peritonitis (adjusted OR 3.1 relative to non-metastatic CC (95%CI, 2.1-4.5)). Perforation/peritonitis was highly associated with inpatient death (adjusted OR 6.8 (95%CI, 4.9-9.5)). Annually, about 3,580 patients underwent stent placement, with benign obstruction showing an increasing trend (P=0.0002).

Over 75% of stent placements were done for patients with benign disease and ECM obstruction. Subsequent ostomy creation during the hospitalization was least likely among ECM patients. Rates of perforation/peritonitis in benign obstructions were concerningly high. (22.2%).