Background: Management of the bladder defect during colectomy for colovesical fistula (CVF) and recommendations for duration of urinary catheter drainage are inconsistent. This study aimed to determine if urinary catheter drainage duration was associated with postoperative complications.
Methods: Retrospective single institution cohort study of patients undergoing resection for diverticular CVF from 2015 through 2021. Urinary catheter drainage was defined as Early (≤7 days postoperative and then subdivided into 1-2 days, 3-5 days, 6-7 days), and Late (>7 days postoperative). Primary outcome was a composite measure of postoperative bladder leak, surgical site infection-III, sepsis, reoperation, and postoperative length-of-stay ≥7 days.
Results: There were 73 patients-64 Early group and 9 Late group. Composite measure between groups (Early 25% vs Late 33.33%, P = .688) was not significantly different. The Late group had more patients with large bladder defects (33.3% vs 7.8%, P = .054), significantly more patients who underwent suture repair (55.6% vs 14.1%, P = .01), and significantly more patients that had an intraoperative pelvic drain (66.7% vs 15.6%, P = .003). After propensity score inverse weighting, the Late group had significantly more cystogram-detected postoperative bladder leaks (P = .002) and ileus (P = .042) than the Early group. There were no bladder leaks or ileus in those who had urinary catheter removal on postoperative days 1-2.
Conclusions: Early urinary catheter removal was associated with no increase in bladder leaks and fewer postoperative complications after definitive management of CVF. Further investigation is required to determine if intraoperative bladder leak testing and postoperative cystograms are useful adjuncts in decision making.
Keywords: bladder leak; colovesical fistula; diverticular disease; urinary catheter.