LAUSR

Background Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is a frequent complication after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). This study aimed to investigate the impact of Vater’s ampullary carcinoma (VAC) on clinically relevant POPF (CR-POPF) in patients undergoing PD. Methods Clinical data were gathered retrospectively from January 2018 to December 2020 for all patients undergoing PD. The univariate and multivariate analysis were used to identify independent risk factors of CR-POPF. A propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis at a ratio of 1:1 was performed to minimize bias from baseline characteristics between VAC and non-VAC groups. Main postoperative complications were compared between the two groups after PSM. Results In 263 patients, 94 (35.7%) patients were diagnosed as VAC. CR-POPF occurred in 99 (37.6%) patients and VAC was identified as an independent risk factor of CR-POPF in multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 0.548, 95% CI = 0.327–0.920, P  = 0.023). After PSM, there were similar baseline characteristics between the VAC and non-VAC group. Moreover, VAC group had a higher rate of CR-POPF ( P  = 0.025) and intra-abdominal infection ( P  = 0.015) compared to the non-VAC group. Conclusions In patients undergoing PD, VAC increases the risk of CR-POPF and several other postoperative complications.