Preoperative Intra-abdominal Sepsis, Not Penetrating Behavior Itself, Is Associated With Worse Postoperative Outcome After Bowel Resection for Crohn Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study

It is generally believed that penetrating behavior is associated with worse surgical outcomes in Crohn disease (CD). We hypothesized that intra-abdominal sepsis (IAS), but not penetrating behavior itself, contributes to postoperative morbidity in patients undergoing bowel resection for CD. Patients who underwent surgery from April 2010 to April 2014 were retrospectively identified from a prospectively maintained database. Demographic information and preoperative and operative data were collected. The outcomes following surgery in patients who had penetrating disease with or without IAS versus nonpenetrating CD were compared. Of 288 patients, 180 had penetrating CD, including 54 who had IAS. Preoperative characteristics were similar between the groups, except for serum albumin, abdominal drainage, and prior bowel resection. Patients with penetrating CD with IAS were more likely to have a stoma, surgical site complications, postoperative IAS complications, and major complications than patients with penetrating CD without IAS or nonpenetrating CD. There were no significant differences between patients with penetrating CD without IAS and nonpenetrating CD. The postoperative outcome was strengthened after propensity-score matching analysis. Moreover, penetrating CD with IAS (odds ratio [OR], 13.034; P = 0.004) is a risk predictor for major postoperative complications, and preoperative serum albumin (OR, 0.095; P = 0.002) and preoperative enteral nutrition (OR, 0.203, P = 0.049) are protective. Penetrating CD without IAS did not adversely affect postoperative outcome after bowel resection compared with penetrating CD with IAS. These results may revise the notion that all patients with penetrating CD have worse postoperative complications.