A Comprehensive Analysis of Outcome of Colectomy in Colorectal Cancer Patients: An Insight from Private Center from the North of Brazil

Aims: to analyze results of partial or total colectomies conducted in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients at a private hospital in Belém, Pará, Brazil.

Study Design: The study was cross-sectional, retrospective and descriptive. Place and duration of the study: the study analyzed medical records of CRC patients subjected to either partial or total colectomy at a hospital in Belém between 2018 and 2022.

Methods: The research abided by ethical norms including the Norms for Research Involving Humans of the Health National Center. The target population was composed of CRC patients of both sexes. The definitive International Classification Diseases (ICD) C18 and C19 and the following keywords “colorectal cancer”, “colon cancer”, “partial colectomy” and “total colectomy” were used to search the medical records. The analyzed variables were: epidemiologic factors, pre-operative variables, peri-operative and post-operative variables, bleeding, oncological factors, presence of compromised lymph nodes, and early and late complications.

Results: After searching the hospital records, it was found that 414 patients were hospitalized with CRC between 2018 and 2022. Of these, 288 were not considered for the study due to the exclusion criteria and, therefore, 122 patients were included in the research. Fistulas were the most common early complication and recurrence the most common late complication with significant association to the presence of positive lymph nodes to pathological staging (p=0.025). Early deaths were most recurrent in stage IV (p=0.003). No statistical relevance was found between the type of colectomy and the presence of early (p=0.906) and late (p=0.237) complications. As for surgeries, conventional surgeries were related to higher rates of complications and prolonged admission.

Conclusion: Negative outcomes for CRC patients are related to pathological staging and patients with positive lymph nodes presented the worst results. In addition, robotic surgery and laparoscopy were related to faster recovery and lessened early complications.