Patient-reported outcomes of Children with an Anorectal Malformation

A 2024 survey by Witt et al. at Nationwide Children's was published in the Annals of Surgery examining patients with anorectal malformation

The survey looked at over 900 patients with anorectal malformation

There was no difference in continence for patients based on sacral ratio alone in regards to quality of life

Patients who are incontinent had a 20-point lower quality of life compared to patients who were continent or clean on enemas

The sacral ratio may not be as strong a predictor of continence as patients age

Bowel management may actually matter more than sacral ratio in predicting continence outcomes

Quality of life is significantly lower for patients with incontinence compared to those clean on enemas