Clinical Impact of Transanal Drainage Tube on Anastomosis Leakage Following Minimally Invasive Resection Without Diverting Stoma in Patients With Rectal Cancer: A Propensity Score-matched Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: As one of the most serious complications of rectal cancer (RC) surgery, preventing anastomotic leakage (AL) is crucial. Several studies have suggested a positive role of the transanal drainage tube (TaDT) in AL prevention. However, whether TaDT is beneficial for AL in patients with RC remains controversial. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact of TaDT on AL following minimally invasive resection without diverting stoma (DS) in patients with RC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 392 consecutive patients with RC who had undergone minimally invasive resection without DS between 2010 and 2021. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to reduce selection bias. AL was classified as grade A, B, or C.

RESULTS: A TaDT was used in 214 patients overall. After PSM, we enrolled 316 patients (n=158 in each group). Before PSM, significant group-dependent differences were observed in terms of age, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, and the use of antiplatelet/anticoagulant agents. The frequency of AL was 7.3% in the overall cohort and was significantly lower in the TaDT group (3.7%) than in the non-TaDT group (11.8%). The rate of grade B AL was significantly lower in the TaDT group than in the non-TaDT group (before PSM, P<0.01; after PSM, P=0.02). However, no significant differences between groups were found for grade C AL. Moreover, multivariate analysis identified the lack of a TaDT as an independent risk factor for AL in the overall and matched cohorts [before PSM, odds ratio, 3.64, P<0.01; after PSM, odds ratio, 2.91, P=0.02].

CONCLUSION: These results indicated that TaDT may play a beneficial role in preventing AL, particularly of grade B, for patients with RC undergoing minimally invasive resection without DS. However, further randomized controlled trials, including patient-reported outcomes, are still needed to understand better the role of TaDT in preventing ALs in patients with RC undergoing minimally invasive resection without DS.