Pilot Study Identifies Top Priorities for Assessing Low Anterior Resection Syndrome

Researchers conducted a pilot study to assess the severity of Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) following intersphincteric resection for ultralow rectal cancer. They used an exploratory instrument based on the Delphi consensus, which identified eight symptoms and eight consequences as the highest priorities for defining LARS. The study found that “emptying difficulties” and “dissatisfaction with the bowels” were the most frequent symptoms and consequences, respectively. The severity of these priorities strongly correlated with condition-specific quality of life and improvements were observed in the summary score of fecal incontinence quality of life scale.