Study design
RECTAL CANCER
The trial was designed as a multicentre prospective randomized controlled trial comparing early (8–12 days) versus late (> 3 months) reversal of a diverting loop ileostomy as an intention-to-treat investigation. Patients were recruited from four Danish surgical departments certified for rectal cancer surgery. The average annual volume for rectal resection with primary anastomosis with or without a diverting loop-ileostomy in the 4 centres was a median of 39 (range 11–83) during the inclusion period from April 2011 to December 2018 and with the last follow-up in December 2019. Screening for eligibility, inclusion, and randomization was performed at the outpatient clinic before surgery.