Intestinal Stomas-Current Practice and Challenges: An Institutional Review.

INTRODUCTION: A stoma is an artificial anastomosis of the gastrointestinal tract to the abdominal skin wall to reroute the stream of feces. Fecal diversion, bowel decompression, and anastomosis protection are common indications for stomas. Relative to other surgical operations, stomas have a high morbidity rate, with rates averaging 40% and ranging 14-79%. The most common early complication was peristomal skin irritation. In contrast, parastomal hernias were the most common late complication.

METHODS: This research was performed at King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Our study included patients who had undergone ileostomies and colostomies. The inclusion criteria included adult patients who are 15 years and older, both emergency and elective cases, and with ASA score of 1-4. The excluded patients were those who had had their stomas performed outside of KHUH and those who were not following up in the hyperbaric department of our hospital. This study was performed using a retrospective study design. The sample size was 98 which included patients with stomas that were following up with the hyperbaric team between January 2018 and February 2021.

RESULTS: We have broken down the indications for stoma formation. The breakdown of all our documented complications are illustrated in the given figure.

CONCLUSION: Within our institutional study, 63.3% of stoma complications consisted of skin problems. This formed the majority of complications. Establishing a stoma care unit would offer continuous support and care to patients and help them in returning to an optimal quality of life. Additionally, this goal can be met through preoperative and postoperative education regarding surgery and stoma formation. This includes preoperative stoma marking and siting, as well as improved recovery through instruction from knowledgeable stoma care specialists regarding hands-on stoma care.Finally, patients can be assisted through specialized stoma clinics.

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Qassim T, Saeed MF, Qassim A, et al . Intestinal Stomas-Current Practice and Challenges: An Institutional Review. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2023;13(2):115-119.