Risk factors for postoperative anastomotic leakage in obstructive left colonic carcinoma

Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most severe complications of colon carcinoma surgery. This study aims to investigate the related factors of AL and evaluate the independent risk factors in predicting AL after one-stage resection and primary anastomosis (RPA) for obstructive left colonic carcinoma (OLCC) patients. The demographic and clinical data, intra-operative indexes, pathologic characteristics, and ileocecal valve status shown on CT of the patients with OLCC who submitted to one-stage RPA were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into AL group and no AL group. All indexes of the two groups were compared and the independent risk factors for AL were investigated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to explore the ability of the statistically significant parameters to predict AL. A total of 141 patients (AL group, 15; no AL group, 126) were enrolled. There were no statistical differences in these indexes between the two groups except for BMI (P = 0.001), ALB (P = 0.020), lymphatic metastasis (P = 0.027), and ileocecal valve status (P < 0.001). BMI, ALB, and ileocecal valve status shown on CT were the independent risk factors for AL. A BMI and ALB cutoff value of 22.2 kg/m² and 27.9 g/L showed the area under the curve (AUC 0.765; 95% CI 0.686-0.832 and 0.684; 95% CI 0.601-0.760) in predicting AL, separately. Higher BMI, lower ALB, and incontinent ileocecal valve shown on preoperative CT may indicate an increased risk of postoperative AL after one-stage RPA for OLCC patients.