CURE, CONTINENCE AND QUALITY OF LIFE AFTER TREATMENT FOR FISTULA‐IN‐ANO
- 10 August 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Anz Journal of Surgery
- Vol. 78 (8), 675-682
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-2197.2008.04616.x
Abstract
The best operation for high anal fistulas is difficult to nominate because they have varying cure and incontinence rates. The objective of this study was to quantify the relative importance of the outcomes of cure, continence and other quality-of-life (QOL) factors.A questionnaire was sent in October 2006 to patients with anal fistulas and to colorectal surgeons. Participants were asked to nominate up to five QOL domains. They were also asked to choose between two treatment options (with different cure and continence rates).Seventy-five of 134 (56%) surgeons and 28 of 199 (14%) patients replied. Comparing draining and cutting setons, surgeons (57 of 71, six neutral) favoured the former and patients (15 of 27, four neutral) preferred the latter. Comparing mucosal advancement flap with cutting seton, both surgeons (71 of 75, four neutral) and patients (13 of 26, two neutral) preferred the former. There was greater uncertainty among surgeons when comparing draining seton (23) and mucosal advancement flap (33), with 18 neutral. Patients preferred the mucosal advancement flap (19) to draining seton (three) and four were neutral. In direct questioning of objectives, surgeons nominated continence, leakage, pain, cure and sepsis as the five most important QOL factors. Patients nominated independent activity, pain, continence, psychological health and leakage as their five factors.Functional impairment and QOL do not necessarily correlate. The development of a validated specific QOL scale for patients with anal fistulas would be important to compare the results of different treatment options. This scale should include social and psychological factors in addition to the physical outcomes.Keywords
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Developing measures of surgeons' equipoise to assess the feasibility of randomized controlled trials in vascular surgerySurgery, 2004
- Long-term outcome following loose-seton technique for external sphincter preservation in complex anal fistulaBritish Journal of Surgery, 2004
- The cutting setonDiseases of the Colon & Rectum, 2001
- Cutting seton for anal fistulasDiseases of the Colon & Rectum, 1997
- Long-term, indwelling setons for low transsphincteric and intersphincteric anal fistulasDiseases of the Colon & Rectum, 1996
- Long-term seton drainage for high anal fistulas in Crohn's disease—A sphincter-saving operation?Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, 1996
- Cutting seton without preliminary internal sphincterotomy in management of complex high fistula-in-anoDiseases of the Colon & Rectum, 1996
- Factors affecting continence after surgery for anal fistulaBritish Journal of Surgery, 1994
- Quality of life of patients with ulcerative colitis preoperatively and postoperativelyGastroenterology, 1991
- Treatment of transsphincteric anal fistulas by the seton techniqueDiseases of the Colon & Rectum, 1986