Baseline Characteristics of the whole cohort
| Variable | Anastomotic leak (n=33) mean±SD/ n (%) | No leak (n=372) mean±SD/ n (%) | p-value |
| Age | 44.12±15.18 | 39.08±16.11 | 0.077 |
| Sex (males) | 25 (75.76) | 260 (69.89) | 0.611 |
| BMI | 29.15±7.44 | 27.93±5.55 | 0.363 |
| ISS | 26.21±11.84 | 22.85±11.86 | 0.127 |
| TRISS | 0.84±0.25 | 0.88±0.22 | 0.388 |
| AIS abdomen | 3.27±0.84 | 3.23±0.85 | 0.790 |
| ≥ 1 comorbidity | 20 (60.61) | 135 (37.29) | 0.015 |
| Site of injury* | 0.136 | ||
| Small intestine only | 15 (45.45) | 220 (59.14) | |
| Colonic injury | 11 (33.33) | 71 (19.09) | |
| Small and colonic injuries | 7 (21.21) | 77 (20.70) | |
| ASA | 0.044 | ||
| 1 | 1 (3.03) | 23 (6.18) | |
| 2 | 2 (6.06) | 96 (25.81) | |
| 3 | 13 (39.39) | 101 (27.15) | |
| 4 | 15 (45.45) | 120 (32.26) | |
| 5 | 2 (6.06) | 24 (6.45) | |
| Presented with shock | 15 (45.45) | 130 (35.14) | 0.320 |
| WBC | 15.66±7.48 | 15.65±7.21 | 0.994 |
| Hb | 11.96±2.54 | 12.62±2.19 | 0.175 |
| BE | −3.96±6.47 | −4.74±4.66 | 0.566 |
| Transfusion of>6 packed red blood cells* | 9 (27.27) | 74 (20) | 0.444 |
| Technique of anastomosis | 0.459 | ||
| Hand-sewn | 12 (37.5) | 103 (29.5) | |
| Staples | 20 (62.5) | 246 (70.49) | |
| Total number of abdominal surgeries† | 2 (1) | 1 (1) | 0.581 |
| First surgery being a DCS | 24 (72.73) | 168 (47.32) | 0.009 |
*Fisher’s exact test.
†Non-parametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used expressed with median and IQR in parenthesis.
AIS, Abbreviated Injury Scale (Abdomen); BMI, Body Metric Index; ISS, Injury Severity Score; TRISS, Trauma and Injury Severity Score.