Organ/space infection is a common cause of high output stoma and outlet obstruction in diverting ileostomy

The objectives of this study are to identify causes of high-output stoma (HOS) and outlet obstruction (OO), which are major complications of diverting ileostomy. A retrospective analysis was performed in 103 patients who underwent colorectal surgery and diverting ileostomy between December 2015 and November 2018. HOS was found in 32 patients (31.1%) and OO in 19 (18.4%). Organ/space surgical site infection (SSI), anastomotic leakage and OO were significant HOS-related factors in univariate analysis, and OO (odds ratio [OR] 3.39, p = 0.034) was a independent HOS-related factor in multivariate analysis. Organ/space SSI and male were significant OO-related factors in univariate analysis, and organ/space SSI (OR 3.77, p = 0.018) was a independent OO-related factor in multivariate analysis. The white blood cell (WBC) count on postoperative day (POD) 3 was significantly higher in the HOS group compared to the non-HOS group (9765 vs. 8130 /mL, p