Abstract / Summary
Abstract Objective: Comparison of mean hospital stay after post-operative closure of ileostomy in early versus delayed ileostomy closure in patients undergoing bowel surgery. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of General Surgery, Lady Reading Hospital – Medical Teaching Institution (LRH-MTI), Peshawar, during the period of January to July 2026. Methodology: Total of sixty-four adult patients aged 18–65 years who had undergone ileostomy after bowel surgery were randomized equally in early and delayed closure groups using block randomization. The early closure was done within 8 weeks whereas delayed closure was done after 8 weeks. The data regarding hospital stay and complication rates were noted down. The data was analyzed with the help of IBM SPSS version 25.0 and p ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Four patients were lost to follow-up and total of 60 patients (30 in each group) were analyzed finally. At baseline both groups were comparable (p > 0.05 for all). The mean post-operative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the early closure group than the delayed closure group (9.9 ± 3.0 days vs. 13.2 ± 4.1 days; mean difference 3.2 days, p = 0.001). The rate of wound infection was significantly higher in the delayed closure group (36.7% vs. 10.0%, p = 0.015). The anastomotic leak (13.3% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.389) and the incisional hernia (6.7% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.554) were comparable between two groups. Subgroup analysis revealed longer hospital stays among patients having diabetes mellitus, body mass index greater than 25 kg/m², and wound infections (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusion: Early ileostomy closure within 8 weeks has a shorter post-operative hospital stay and less wound infection.