Brenner et al identified risk factors for recurrence of an enterocutaneous fistula (ECF) following surgical repair. Recurrence of a fistula is the primary determinant of mortality for patients with an ECF. The authors are from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Patient selection: surgical repair of an enterocutaneous fistula
Parameters:
(1) underlying disease
(2) number of weeks between diagnosis of ECF and initial surgical repair
(3) location of the involved bowel
(4) method of anastomosis
Parameter |
Finding |
Points |
underlying disease |
other than Crohn's disease |
0 |
|
Crohn's disease |
1 |
number of weeks |
< 36 weeks |
0 |
|
>= 36 weeks |
1 |
involved bowel |
large intestine |
0 |
|
small intestine |
1 |
method of anastomosis |
non-stapled |
0 |
|
stapled |
1 |
number of risk factors for recurrence of the fistula =
= SUM(points for all 4 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum number of risk factors: 0
• maximum number of risk factors: 4
• The risk of recurrence increases as the number of risk factors increase.
• The odds ratio are 4.9, 5.4, 9.8 and 4.1 respectively. One modification is to assign 2 points to small bowel involvement.
Specialty: Gastroenterology, Surgery, general