Abstract Aims The presence of a temporary ileostomy following anterior resection for rectal cancer substantially impacts the quality of life of patients and long‐term functional outcomes. Timely reversal of the ileostomy can help to minimise negative impacts. Using an administrative dataset for England, this study aimed to explore temporal trends in ileostomy reversal rates, variation in reversal rates across trusts and factors associated with delayed reversal. Methods This was an exploratory retrospective analysis of observational data from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset for England. All patients aged ≥17 years undergoing a planned anterior resection for rectal cancer with ileostomy creation between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2023, were identified. The primary outcome of interest was ileostomy reversal within 18 months. Results Data were available for 5,275 ileostomy creations during the study period. Ileostomy was reversed within 18 months in 3,338 (63.5%) patients. Frailty, socio‐economic deprivation, open surgery and anastomotic leak were associated with failure to reverse ileostomy within 18 months. There was a steady decrease in rates of ileostomy reversal within 18 months over the course of the study period. Conclusions This study highlights a need to review current ileostomy closure pathways across England, provide equitable access to timely reversal and improve the shared decision‐making process between clinicians and patients undergoing surgery for rectal cancer.
Olagunju et al. (Sun,) studied this question.