657 Ulceration of the Pre-Pouch Ileum in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Following Proctocolectomy With Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis: An Analysis of Pouchoscopies From 272 Patients

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Colectomy is required in up to 30% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) due to medically refractory disease or development of dysplasia/cancer. In such cases, restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the surgery of choice. However, pouchitis may occur in up to 80% of patients and significantly impairs quality of life. Pouchitis usually spares the pre-pouch ileum, however, a subset of patients develops discrete ulcerations in the pre-pouch ileum despite a firm preoperative UC diagnosis. The prevalence of such findings and predictive factors have not been adequately studied. We report a large cohort of patients undergoing pouchoscopies and describe the prevalence of pre-pouch ileal ulcerations. METHODS: This is a retrospective single-center study of adult patients with UC who had a total proctocolectomy with IPAA and subsequently underwent pouchoscopy between January 2007 and August 2018. At our institution, pouchoscopies are performed using a standard operating protocol. These reports include detailed descriptions of the mucosa as well as high definition images of the different areas of the pouch, the pre-pouch ileum, the pouch inlet, forward view of the pouch, a retroverted view of the pouch, and the rectal cuff. Based on these images and descriptions, we characterized pouch phenotypes and ulcer locations. Patient demographic and clinical data were also assessed. RESULTS: We reviewed the pouchoscopies of 272 patients who underwent proctocolectomy with IPAA for a pre-operative diagnosis of UC. Characteristics of the patients included median age 39 years (IQR 30.2-50.7), median BMI 25 (IQR 22.5-28.6), 90% Caucasian, 59% men, 23% ex-smokers and 83% extensive colitis prior to colectomy. 18% of our patients had discrete ulcerations in their pre-pouch ileum. In a multivariate analysis including age, sex, BMI, disease extent, race, ex-smoking status, prior treatment with anti TNFs or immunomodulators, history of PSC and previous infection with C. diff, none of these factors were associated with pre-pouch ileal ulcers (Table 1). CONCLUSION: Despite a firm diagnosis of UC prior to colectomy, 18% of patients at our tertiary center were found to have discrete ulcers in their pre-pouch ileum. We did not identify predictive factors in this patient cohort, but the potential impact of these findings suggests that proactive post-operative monitoring may be helpful.