Predictors of low quality of life after open inguinal hernia repair using the EuraHS-QoL score: prospective multicentric cohort study across 33 hospitals

Purpose Evidence about factors influencing quality of life after inguinal hernia surgery is scarce. This study aimed to assess patient’s Quality of Life (QoL) after open inguinal hernia repair and to identify predictors of low QoL at 3 months after surgery, to guide practice and inform patients at high risk. Methods Prospective multicentric cohort study including consecutive patients undergoing elective open inguinal hernia repair in Portuguese hospitals (October–December 2019). The primary outcome was Quality of Life at 3 months after surgery, using the EuraHS-QoL score (higher score correlates with lower QoL). Low QoL was defined as the higher EuraHS-QoL score tertile and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors. Results 893 patients were included from 33 hospitals. The majority were men [89.9% (800/891)], had unilateral hernias 88.7% (774/872) and the most common surgical technique was Lichtenstein’s repair [52.9% (472/893)]. The median QoL score was 24 (IQR 10–40) before surgery and 2 (IQR 0–10) at 3 months after surgery, showing significant improvement ( p