Abstract

Abstract Background Recent evidence challenges the current standard of offering surgery to patients with ileocecal Crohn’s disease only when they present complications of the disease. Methods A retrospective, multicenter comparative analysis was performed including patients operated for primary ileocecal CD at 12 referral centers. Patients were divided in 2 groups, according to indication of surgery for inflammatory (ICD) or complicated (CCD) phenotype. Short-term results were compared. Patients operated on for primary isolated ileocaecal CD (last 50 cm of the terminal ileum and cecum), either for predominantly inflammatory phenotype or for complications of the disease (stricturing or fistulizing pattern), between January 2012 - December 2021 were considered eligible to participate in this study. Patients with previous abdominal procedures for CD, and patients who had activity of the disease in other intestinal segments other than the ileocaecal region at the time of surgery, were excluded from the study. Results 2013 patients were included, 291 (14.5%) in the ICD group. No differences were found between groups in time from diagnosis to surgery or in the levels of exposure to biologic drugs before indication of surgery. CCD patients had higher rates of low BMI, anemia (40.9 vs. 27%, p: < 0.001), and low albumin (11.3 vs. 2.6%, p: < 0.001). CCD patients had longer operations, lower rates of laparoscopic approach (84.3 vs. 93.1%, p: 0.001), and higher conversion rates (9.3 vs. 1.9%, p: < 0.001). CCD had longer hospital stay and higher postoperative complication rates (26.1 vs. 21.3%, p: 0.083). Anastomotic leakage and reoperations were also more frequent in this group. More patients in the CCD group required an extended bowel resection (14.1 vs. 8.3%, p: 0.017). In multivariate analysis, CCD was associated with prolonged surgeries (OR: 3.44, p: 0.001) and requirements of multiple intraoperative procedures (OR: 8.39, p: 0.030). Conclusion Indication of surgery in patients who present an inflammatory phenotype of CD was associated with better outcomes when compared to patients operated on for complications of the disease, without a difference between groups in time from diagnosis to surgery.

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