Best evidence in critical care medicine: medical therapy of acute colonic pseudo-obstruction: a moving experience

Multivariate analysis on risk factors for postoperative ileus after lateral lumbar interbody fusion

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To assess for independent risk factors of postoperative ileus (POI) after lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF).

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

POI is frequently observed in anterior lumbar interbody fusion due to significant bowel manipulation during the approach. LLIF is a minimally invasive approach to the anterior column with reduced bowel manipulation and surgical time. However, there is a paucity of literature on POI after LLIF.

METHODS

A retrospective review was performed of records of patients who underwent LLIF from January 2006 to December 2011 at a single institution. Patients with prolonged and recurrent POI were identified by review of hospital stay documentation by a fellowship-trained spine surgeon and a research fellow. POI patients were matched 1:1 to a control cohort without POI. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed on demographic, comorbidity, surgical indication, medication, and perioperative details to identify independent risk factors for POI.

RESULTS

Incidence of prolonged or recurrent POI after LLIF was 7.0% (42/596). Postoperative length of stay was significantly higher for patients with POI (9.9 ± 4.3 d) than control patients (5.6 ± 4.1 d) (P < 0.001). The incidence of ileus in the first 100 LLIF cases (11%) was not significantly higher than in the last 100 LLIF cases (6%) (P = 0.21). Independent risk factors were history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (P < 0.01, adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 24.31), posterior instrumentation (P = 0.002, aOR: 19.48), and LLIF at L1-L2 (P = 0.04, aOR: 7.82). A history of prior abdominal surgery approached significance as an independent protective factor (P = 0.07, aOR: 0.29).

CONCLUSION

There was a relatively high incidence of POI after LLIF. Independent risk factors for POI were a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease, posterior instrumentation, and LLIF at L1-L2. A history of prior abdominal surgery approached significance as an independent protective factor.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3.

Intramuscular neostigmine and glycopyrrolate safely accelerated bowel evacuation in patients with spinal cord injury and defecatory disorders

Difficulty with evacuation after spinal cord injury (SCI) may be due to a lack of parasympathetic stimulation of the colon. Prior studies in persons with spinal cord injury have suggested that intravenous administration of neostigmine stimulates colonic motility while glycopyrrolate attenuates some of the cholinergic side effects of neostigmine. We thus performed a double-blind, cross-over study to evaluate the effect of neostigmine/glycopyrrolate injections in patients with SCI and defecatory difficulties. Seven subjects received active treatment (neostigmine 2 mg and glycopyrrolate 0.4 mg intramuscularly) during three consecutive bowel evacuation sessions and were crossed-over to placebo injections for three consecutive sessions. Compared with placebo, neostigmine/glycopyrrolate reduced the total bowel evacuation time from 98.1 +/- 7.2 to 74.8 min +/- 5.8 (p < 0.05). The lowest heart rate or blood pressure was not significantly different between the treatment and placebo groups. In conclusion, neostigmine/glycopyrrolate may improve bowel evacuation in patients with SCI-related defecatory disorders.