[Short-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of laparoscopic and open loop ileostomy reversal]

Objective: To compare the short-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of laparoscopic and open ileostomy reversal. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was adopted. Clinical data of patients who underwent loop ileostomy reversal at the department of Colorectal Tumor Surgery of Shengjing Hospital Affiliated with China Medical University from January 2021 to November 2023 were reviewed. After excluding those who did not undergo reversal within 3 to 6 months of the initial surgery, patients with complications such as parastomal hernia requiring additional procedures, and those who underwent laparoscopic-to-open conversion, 150 were included for analysis. Patients were grouped according to type of reversal: open surgery (92 patients) and laparoscopic (58 patients). The primary outcome was cost-effectiveness. The success rate of ileostomy reversal was used as the health outcome. Hospitalization costs were collected via the hospital information system. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold was set at three times the per capita gross domestic product. Differences in cost and success rates between open and laparoscopic procedures were compared. Incremental cost per successful reversal of ileostomy reversal and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were calculated (ICER < WTP indicates that laparoscopic ileostomy reversal is more cost-effective than open). Results: Compared with open reversal, the intraoperative blood loss volume was lower[ (35.5±12.6) ml vs.(57.7±19.0) ml,t=7.874, P<0.001] ; adhesion release rate was higher [82.8%(48/58) vs.46.7%(43/92), χ²=19.341, P<0.001]; time to first flatus [(99.4±32.4) hours vs.(115.0±35.3) hours, t=2.734, P=0.007] and time to unassisted ambulation [42(18-71) hours vs. 51(25-78) hours, Z=-6.440, P<0.001] were earlier; postoperative hospitalization was shorter [(12.0±3.4) days vs.(15.0±3.6) days, t=5.010, P<0.001] ; visual analog scale pain score on postoperative day 2 was lower [3(3-4) vs. 4(4-4), Z=-6.488, P<0.001;3(2-3) vs. 3(3-4), Z=-4.810, P<0.001]; and incidence of postoperative complications was lower [8.6%(5/58) vs. 21.7%(20/92), χ²=4.408, P=0.036] in the total laparoscopic group. The ICER of the total cost of the laparoscopic group relative to the open group was 38 221.89 CNY. Univariate sensitivity analysis showed that the success rate of laparoscopic reversal had the greatest impact on the results. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve showed that when the WTP was 257 094 CNY, the probability of laparoscopic reversal being economical was 84.9%. Conclusion: Laparoscopic ileostomy reversal is more cost-effective than open and has superior short-term outcomes.