Rectal washout and local recurrence in rectal resection for cancer: a meta-analysis

Aim The effectiveness of rectal washout was compared with no washout for the prevention of local recurrence after anterior rectal resection for rectal cancer. Method The following electronic databases were searched: PubMed, OVID Medline, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, EBM Reviews, CINAHL and EMBASE. Results Five nonrandomized studies including a total of 5012 patients were identified. Meta-analysis suggested that rectal washout significantly reduced the local recurrence rate (P < 0.0001; OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.43-0.74). It was also significantly lower after washout in patients having radical resection only (P = 0.0004; OR 0.54; 95% CI 0.39-0.76), patients treated by a curative resection (P < 0.0001; OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.42-0.72) and those undergoing preoperative radiotherapy (P = 0.04; OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.39-0.98). Conclusion Taking into account the limitations of the design of the included studies the meta-analysis showed that rectal washout is associated with reduced local recurrence and therefore should be routine during anterior resection for rectal cancer.