[Sandostatin treatment in postoperative external digestive fistulae]

The aim of the conservative treatment of postoperative external digestive fistulae is to obtain a reduction of the output, thus favoring spontaneous closure and shortening outcome. A retrospective comparative study has been performed on two groups of patients with postoperative anastomotic gastrointestinal and pancreatic fistulae. Group A included 18 cases (14 anastomotic, 4 pancreatic fistulae) receiving conventional treatment only. Group B included 25 cases (18 anastomotic and 7 pancreatic fistulae) in which Sandostatin was associated to conventional therapy, using daily doses ranging from 0.1 mg to 0.3 mg, administered after variable intervals after fistulas' occurrence. Duration of treatment ranged from 1 to 25 days. In group A, 27.77% of the cases were cured in comparison with group B in which the healing rate increased to 56%. Global hospital mortality rate was 25.58% (11 cases). In group A this was 44.44% (8 cases) in comparison with group B with 12% (3 cases) only. As a conclusion of our study, the use of Sandostatin is remarkable effective in the treatment of external digestive postoperative fistulae. Thus a doubling of healing rate and a reduction by 73% of mortality rate was achieved.