Urinary Diversion and Morbidity After Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer

BACKGROUND: The rate of continent urinary diversion after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer varies by patient and provider characteristics. Demonstration of equivalent complication rates, independent of diversion type, may decrease provider reluctance to perform continent reconstructions. The authors sought to determine whether continent reconstructions confer increased complication rates after radical cystectomy. METHODS: From the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the authors used International Classification of Disease (ICD-9) codes to identify subjects who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer during 2001-2005. They determined acute postoperative medical and surgical complications from ICD-9 codes and compared complication rates by reconstruction type using the nearest neighbor propensity score matching method and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: Adjusting for case-mix differences between reconstructive groups, continent diversions conferred a lower risk of medical, surgical, and disposition-related complications that was statistically significant for bowel (3.1% lower risk; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], -6.8% to -0.1%), urinary (1.2% lower risk; 95% CI, -2.3%, to -0.4%), and other surgical complications (3.0% lower risk; 95% CI, -6.2% to -0.4%), and discharge other than home (8.2% lower risk; 95% CI, -12.1% to -4.6%) compared with ileal conduit subjects. Older age and certain comorbid conditions, including congestive heart failure and preoperative weight loss, were associated with significantly increased odds of postoperative medical and surgical complications in all subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Mode of urinary diversion after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer is not associated with increased risk of immediate postoperative complications. These results may encourage broader consideration of continent urinary diversion without concern for increased complication rates. Cancer 2010;116:331-9. (C) 2070 American Cancer Society.