Who gets a pouch after colectomy in New York state and why?

Background: This study identified variation and factors associated with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis after total colectomy for ulcerative colitis.

Methods: The Statewide Planning & Research Cooperative System was used to identify patients with ulcerative colitis who underwent total colectomy in New York state from 2000-2013. Bivariate and mixed-effects multivariable analyses were performed to assess patient, surgeon, and hospital-level factors as well as surgeon and hospital-level variation associated with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis after total colectomy.

Results: Across 2,203 patients, the rate of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis was 34%. Overall, 465 surgeons and 148 hospitals performed at least one total colectomy for ulcerative colitis from 2000-2013, and 178 surgeons and 80 hospitals performed at least one ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis during the study period. The median rate of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis creation was 14% (range = 6% to 69%) across surgeons and 14% (range = 7% to 63%) across hospitals. Patient-level factors independently associated with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis were younger age, lower comorbidity burden, and elective total colectomy. Surgeon and hospital-level factors independently associated with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis were colorectal surgery board-certification, surgeon ileal pouch-anal anastomosis volume, and hospital ileal pouch-anal anastomosis volume. Patient-level factors explained 43% of the surgeon and 47% of the hospital variation in ileal pouch-anal anastomosis creation while surgeon-level factors explained 26% of the surgeon and 21% of the hospital variation.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that variation in ileal pouch-anal anastomosis creation for ulcerative colitis is influenced largely by provider practices/preferences or lack of referral of patients after colectomy to surgeons and centers that perform ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. Providers and hospitals that do not routinely perform ileal pouch-anal anastomosis should refer patients to centers with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis expertise after total colectomy.