Patient-Reported Trajectories After Intestinal Stoma Formation: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Stoma-Related Outcomes and Global Quality of Life
4 affiliations
- 1UOC Chirurgia Colorettale, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Àlvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy
- 2Research Unit of Surgery, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy
- 3UOC Anestesia e Rianimazione, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128 Rome, Italy
- 4Department of Life Science, Health and Health Professions, LINK Campus University, 00165 Rome, Italy
Abstract
Background: Recovery after intestinal stoma formation involves practical, psychological, social, and functional changes that may not evolve in parallel with patients’ overall perception of quality of life. This study examined patient-reported trajectories during the first six postoperative months and explored whether multidimensional stoma-related outcomes followed the same pattern as directly reported global quality of life. Methods: This prospective single-centre observational study included patients with complete assessments at approximately 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after ileostomy or colostomy formation. Patient responses were collected at each follow-up and subsequently manually transcribed into an electronic study database. The primary exploratory outcome was a corrected 30-component stoma-related patient-reported composite index (range 0–30; higher values more favourable) derived from an adapted, non-validated questionnaire. A direct 0–10 global quality-of-life item, which also contributed one component to the composite, was analysed separately. Longitudinal change was assessed using Friedman tests with Bonferroni-adjusted Wilcoxon signed-rank comparisons. Post hoc robustness analyses recomputed the composite after excluding the global quality-of-life component and after additionally excluding the sexual-activity components. Results: Our study included 23 patients. The median composite index increased from 9.4 (IQR 7.2–13.6) at 2 weeks to 10.9 (8.7–13.6) at 1 month and 12.2 (9.3–15.3) at 3 months and was 11.8 (9.3–17.2) at 6 months (Friedman chi-square(3) = 19.08, p < 0.001; Kendall’s W = 0.276). Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons were significant for 2 weeks versus 3 months (p = 0.037), 2 weeks versus 6 months (p = 0.016), and 1 month versus 6 months (p = 0.045). Median global quality-of-life ratings were 5, 6, 6, and 5, respectively, with no significant longitudinal change (p = 0.753). Excluding the global quality-of-life component from the composite produced a similar overall result (Friedman chi-square(3) = 19.38, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The exploratory composite showed statistically significant longitudinal change during the first six postoperative months, whereas directly reported global quality of life did not show a parallel change. Because the composite is non-validated and no threshold for clinically meaningful change has been established, these findings should not be interpreted as demonstrating clinically meaningful improvement in adaptation or quality of life. Rather, they suggest that several stoma-related patient-reported dimensions may change over time differently from global quality of life. These findings are exploratory and require confirmation in larger cohorts using validated patient-reported outcome measures.
Related
- Associations of digital exclusion with joint trajectories of depression and self-rated health: evidence from two prospective longitudinal studies
- Lymphedema symptom trajectories and patient-reported outcomes after axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer: A prospective cohort study.
- Quality of Life and Patient-Reported Outcomes During First-Line Chemotherapy in Older Patients with De Novo Metastatic Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.
- Trajectories and predictors of psychological distress during the first 6 months of weight loss among adults with obesity: a prospective longitudinal cohort study
- Trajectories of Glycemia Following Acute Pancreatitis: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.
BibTeX
@article{carannante2026patientreported,
title = {{Patient-Reported Trajectories After Intestinal Stoma Formation: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Stoma-Related Outcomes and Global Quality of Life}},
author = {Filippo Carannante and Asia Rizzini and Valentina Miacci and Francesca Carnevale and Paula Elena Papuc and Fausto D’Agostino and Gianluca Costa and Gabriella Teresa Capolupo},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/jcm15218654},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8654},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Patient-Reported Trajectories After Intestinal Stoma Formation: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Stoma-Related Outcomes and Global Quality of Life
AU - Filippo Carannante
AU - Asia Rizzini
AU - Valentina Miacci
AU - Francesca Carnevale
AU - Paula Elena Papuc
AU - Fausto D’Agostino
AU - Gianluca Costa
AU - Gabriella Teresa Capolupo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - Journal of Clinical Medicine
DO - 10.3390/jcm15218654
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8654
AB - Background: Recovery after intestinal stoma formation involves practical, psychological, social, and functional changes that may not evolve in parallel with patients’ overall perception of quality of life. This study examined patient-reported trajectories during the first six postoperative months and explored whether multidimensional stoma-related outcomes followed the same pattern as directly reported global quality of life. Methods: This prospective single-centre observational study included patients with complete assessments at approximately 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after ileostomy or colostomy formation. Patient responses were collected at each follow-up and subsequently manually transcribed into an electronic study database. The primary exploratory outcome was a corrected 30-component stoma-related patient-reported composite index (range 0–30; higher values more favourable) derived from an adapted, non-validated questionnaire. A direct 0–10 global quality-of-life item, which also contributed one component to the composite, was analysed separately. Longitudinal change was assessed using Friedman tests with Bonferroni-adjusted Wilcoxon signed-rank comparisons. Post hoc robustness analyses recomputed the composite after excluding the global quality-of-life component and after additionally excluding the sexual-activity components. Results: Our study included 23 patients. The median composite index increased from 9.4 (IQR 7.2–13.6) at 2 weeks to 10.9 (8.7–13.6) at 1 month and 12.2 (9.3–15.3) at 3 months and was 11.8 (9.3–17.2) at 6 months (Friedman chi-square(3) = 19.08, p < 0.001; Kendall’s W = 0.276). Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons were significant for 2 weeks versus 3 months (p = 0.037), 2 weeks versus 6 months (p = 0.016), and 1 month versus 6 months (p = 0.045). Median global quality-of-life ratings were 5, 6, 6, and 5, respectively, with no significant longitudinal change (p = 0.753). Excluding the global quality-of-life component from the composite produced a similar overall result (Friedman chi-square(3) = 19.38, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The exploratory composite showed statistically significant longitudinal change during the first six postoperative months, whereas directly reported global quality of life did not show a parallel change. Because the composite is non-validated and no threshold for clinically meaningful change has been established, these findings should not be interpreted as demonstrating clinically meaningful improvement in adaptation or quality of life. Rather, they suggest that several stoma-related patient-reported dimensions may change over time differently from global quality of life. These findings are exploratory and require confirmation in larger cohorts using validated patient-reported outcome measures.
SN - 2077-0383
ER -