Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of the study patients
| Not tested | CDI (−) | CDI (+) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 1062) | (n = 162) | (n = 46) | ||
| Sex | 0.004 | |||
| Male | 709 (66.8) | 129 (79.6) | 32 (69.6) | |
| Female | 353 (33.2) | 33 (20.4) | 14 (30.4) | |
| Mean (s.d.) age (years) | 60.0 (11.3) | 58.56 (10.8) | 59.85 (12.1) | 0.296 |
| Mean (s.d.) BMI (kg/m2) | 23.93 (3.2) | 23.79 (3.4) | 23.39 (3.4) | 0.491 |
| Alcohol consumption | 560 (52.8) | 95 (58.6) | 21 (45.7) | 0.217 |
| Smoking history | 532 (50.1) | 89 (54.) | 20 (43.5) | 0.327 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 172 (16.2) | 30 (18.5) | 4 (8.7) | 0.280 |
| Hypertension | 374 (35.2) | 57 (35.2) | 14 (30.4) | 0.801 |
| Mean (s.d.) haemoglobin | 12.68 (1.6) | 12.9 (1.5) | 12.59 (1.7) | 0.244 |
| Mean (s.d.) albumin | 3.78 (0.3) | 3.81 (0.4) | 3.69 (0.4) | 0.131 |
| Mean (s.d.) creatinine | 0.89 (0.4) | 0.92 (0.3) | 0.98 (0.8) | 0.185 |
| PCRT | 666 (62.7) | 104 (64.2) | 23 (50.0) | 0.194 |
| Adjuvant chemotherapy | 737 (69.4) | 115 (71.0) | 36 (78.3) | 0.417 |
| Type of surgery | 0.130 | |||
| LAR | 261 (24.6) | 51 (31.5) | 14 (30.4) | |
| uLAR | 801 (75.4) | 111 (68.5) | 32 (69.6) | |
| Prophylactic antibiotics | < 0.001 | |||
| Cefotetan | 276 (26.0) | 11 (6.8) | 2 (4.3) | |
| Cefoxitin | 771 (72.6) | 150 (92.6) | 44 (95.7) | |
| Ceftriaxone | 7 (0.7) | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0) | |
| Ciprofloxacin | 8 (0.8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Mean (s.d.) time to closure (months) | 6.45 (2.6) | 6.81 (2.6) | 6.72 (3.1) | 0.231 |
| Mean (s.d.) duration of hospital stay (days) | 6.03 (2.5) | 10.19 (7.9) | 10.78 (7.4) | < 0.001 |
| Leak* | 45 (4.2) | 16 (9.9) | 10 (21.7) | < 0.001 |
| Pre-CDI leak | 33 (3.1) | 11 (6.8) | 6 (13.0) | < 0.001 |
| Post-CDI leak | 14 (1.3) | 7 (4.3) | 4 (8.7) | < 0.001 |
Values are presented as a n (%) or as a mean (s.d.). *Leakage was assessed for anastomosis between colon and rectum. CDI, Clostridium difficile infection; PCRT, preoperative chemoradiotherapy; LAR, low anterior resection; uLAR, ultra-low anterior resection.