Perioperative anxiety and postoperative pain

Multimodal prehabilitation in colorectal cancer patients to improve functional capacity and reduce postoperative complications: the first international randomized controlled trial for multimodal prehabilitation

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most prevalent type of cancer in the world. Surgery is the only curative option. However, postoperative complications occur in up to 50% of patients and are associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates, lower health related quality of life (HRQoL) and increased expenditure in health care. The number and severity of complications are closely related to preoperative functional capacity, nutritional state, psychological state, and smoking behavior. Traditional approaches have targeted the postoperative period for rehabilitation and lifestyle changes. However, recent evidence shows that the preoperative period might be the optimal moment for intervention. This study will determine the impact of multimodal prehabilitation on patients' functional capacity and postoperative complications.

METHODS/DESIGN

This international multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial will include 714 patients undergoing colorectal surgery for cancer. Patients will be allocated to the intervention group, which will receive 4 weeks of prehabilitation (group 1, prehab), or the control group, which will receive no prehabilitation (group 2, no prehab). Both groups will receive perioperative care in accordance with the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) guidelines. The primary outcomes for measurement will be functional capacity (as assessed using the six-minute walk test (6MWT)) and postoperative status determined with the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI). Secondary outcomes will include HRQoL, length of hospital stay (LOS) and a cost-effectiveness analysis.

DISCUSSION

Multimodal prehabilitation is expected to enhance patients' functional capacity and to reduce postoperative complications. It may therefore result in increased survival and improved HRQoL. This is the first international multicenter study investigating multimodal prehabilitation for patients undergoing colorectal surgery for cancer.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Trial Registry: NTR5947 - date of registration: 1 August 2016.

Preoperative prediction of severe postoperative pain

We developed and validated a prediction rule for the occurrence of early postoperative severe pain in surgical inpatients, using predictors that can be easily documented in a preoperative setting. A cohort of surgical inpatients (n=1416) undergoing various procedures except cardiac surgery and intracranial neurosurgery in a University Hospital were studied. Preoperatively the following predictors were collected: age, gender, type of scheduled surgery, expected incision size, blood pressure, heart rate, Quetelet index, the presence and severity of preoperative pain, health-related quality of life the (SF-36), Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). The outcome was the presence of severe postoperative pain (defined as Numeric Rating Scale > or =8) within the first hour postoperatively. Multivariate logistic regression in combination with bootstrapping techniques (as a method for internal validation) was used to derive a stable prediction model. Independent predictors of severe postoperative pain were younger age, female gender, level of preoperative pain, incision size and type of surgery. The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.68-0.74). Adding APAIS scores (measures of preoperative anxiety and need for information), but not STAI, provided a slightly better model (ROC area 0.73). The reliability of this extended model was good (Hosmer and Lemeshow test p-value 0.78). We have demonstrated that severe postoperative pain early after awakening from general anesthesia can be predicted with a scoring rule, using a small set of variables that can be easily obtained from all patients at the preoperative visit. Before this internally validated preoperative prediction rule can be applied in clinical practice to support anticipatory pain management, external validation in other clinical settings is necessary.

Anxiety and surgical recovery. Reinterpreting the literature

OBJECTIVE

To critically evaluate the interpretation of the findings reported in the peer-reviewed literature concerning the association of state and trait anxiety with surgical recovery and response to surgery.

METHODS

The Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Science Citation Index (SCI), Medline and Psychological Abstracts (PsycInfo) databases were searched for studies published since 1981. Reference lists from previous reviews were also searched for additional references. Studies that were not in the public domain were not searched for.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven studies were identified by the search strategy, met the inclusion criteria and contributed to the review.

CONCLUSIONS

Associations between preoperative measures of anxiety and postoperative mood and pain have been consistently reported. Associations with regard to other recovery variables are less consistent. The existing evidence does not rule out an interpretation of the results as reflecting consistent self-reporting bias rather than causal association.