The effectiveness of preoperative stoma site marking on patient outcomes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Aims This study systematically reviews the literature regarding preoperative stoma site marking and discusses the effectiveness of the procedure on complication rates, self‐care deficits and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). Design Systematic review and meta‐analysis. Data source Our review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and CINAHL databases were searched to obtain articles published in English. Articles were also retrieved from Korean databases as well. Our last search was conducted on 2 June 2019. Review methods Two reviewers independently selected relevant studies, evaluated their methodological quality and extracted data. Experimental and observational studies were included. Our main focus was on complication rates, self‐care deficits and HRQOL. We conducted meta‐analysis using the statistical software spss 25.0 and S tata 13.0. Results Of the 1,039 articles reviewed, 20 were included for review, and 19 were used for quantitative synthesis. Preoperative stoma site marking reduced complication rates (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.36–0.62; I 2 : 70.6%), lowered self‐care deficits (OR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.18–0.64; I 2 : 0%), and increased HRQOL (standardized mean difference, 1.05; 95% CI: 0.70–1.40; I 2 : 0%). Quality appraisal results for both the individual studies and the studies overall were excellent. The possibility of publication bias was low. Conclusions Our findings indicate that preoperative stoma site marking improves patient outcomes: stoma‐related complication rates and self‐care deficits decrease and HRQOL rises. For this reason, preoperative stoma site marking should be a mandatory procedure in clinical settings. The practice should also be supported by policymakers and healthcare expert associations. Impact Preoperative stoma site marking reduces overall complication rates by 53% and skin problems by 59%. Preoperative stoma site marking also improves self‐care and health‐related quality of life. We recommend that preoperative stoma site marking should be a mandatory procedure in clinical settings.