Delayed postoperative diet is associated with a greater incidence of prolonged postoperative ileus and longer stay in hospital for patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery

Factors affecting dietary progression post cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is treated by cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Timely postoperative nutrition is required to reduce the risk of malnutrition and other complications; thus the present study aims to evaluate factors that may impact dietary progression following CRS/HIPEC treatment.

METHODS

Forty-two patients undergoing CRS/HIPEC at a tertiary hospital were audited between April 2019 and August 2020. Patients were classified into two groups: fast dietary progression (FDP) and slow dietary progression (SDP), based on commencement of a full fluid diet (FF) within 7 days or after 7 days postoperatively. Between-group differences in patient characteristics, surgical factors and postoperative complications were evaluated statistically (significant at p < 0.05).

RESULTS

FDP and SDP groups comprised of 22 (52%) and 20 (40%) patients, respectively. A FF diet was established on a median of 7 (4.25-9.75) days, but not before day 2. Nineteen of the 31 (61.3%) patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) were in the SDP group (p = 0.009). The SDP group had longer surgery duration (p = 0.05), more gastrointestinal anastomoses (GIAs) (p = 0.02), more enterotomies (p = 0.008), higher rates of prolonged ileus (p = 0.007), longer duration to first bowel motion (p = 0.002), more returns to theatre (p = 0.03), higher Clavien Dindo scores ≥ IIIb (p = 0.01) and longer postoperative length-of-stay (p = 0.001), compared to the FDP group.

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative complications were associated with SDP in PC patients undergoing CRS/HIPEC. Strategies that aim to limit SDP through timely commencement of nutrition, including PN, are important to improve postoperative outcomes in this patient group.

A WeChat-Based Mobile Platform for Perioperative Health Education for Gastrointestinal Surgery

Appropriately instructing and guiding patients before and after surgery is essential for their successful recovery. In recent years, however, the development of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol has restricted the opportunity for healthcare professionals to spend time with their patients before and after surgery because of efficiency-driven, shortened hospital stay. Here, we embedded health education information of the perioperative period for gastrointestinal surgery on a WeChat-based mobile platform and evaluated the platform through medical staff evaluation, patient volunteer evaluation, and quantitative grading rubric. Clinicians and nurses believed that the mobile platform was attractively designed and easy to navigate, valuable, and adequate for patient health education. The content of health education was embedded into the WeChat-based mobile platform, thereby allowing patients and caregivers to access information at their own pace and enable repeat reading.

Incidence and Risk of Severe Ileus After Orthopedic Surgery: A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

Post-operative ileus (POI) is common and can be associated with significant morbidity.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES

We aimed to identify the incidence of and risk factors associated with severe post-operative ileus (SPOI) after elective orthopedic surgery.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective case-control study of patients undergoing elective orthopedic procedures at a single musculoskeletal specialty hospital. SPOI cases matched 1:2 to non-POI controls. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), codes were used to identify patients who were coded as having an episode of POI. After chart review, a subset was classified as clinical SPOI cases, based on set criteria. Regression models were constructed to identify variables associated with SPOI.

RESULTS

Of 273 POI cases, 77 (28.2%) were classified as SPOI. Overall rates of SPOI were 2.74/1000 orthopedic discharges, with SPOI most common in spine surgeries (9.07/1000 spine procedure discharges). Hypothesis-generating multivariable conditional logistic regression suggested that, for hip and knee cases, not being on a full diet by post-operative day (POD) 2 posed an increased risk of SPOI. For spine cases, not being on a full diet on POD 2 and longer surgery times were associated with risk of SPOI.

CONCLUSIONS

In this retrospective case-control study, patients undergoing elective orthopedic procedures who had not progressed to full diet by POD 2 and spine patients with longer operative times were most at risk for SPOI. These data can be used clinically by peri-operative physicians to stratify patients according to risk.

Nasogastric tube after small bowel obstruction surgery could be avoided: a retrospective cohort study

PURPOSE

The safety and feasibility of early removal of nasogastric tube (NGT) after small bowel obstruction (SBO) surgery have not yet been assessed. Such a practice could allow to implement enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols after acute SBO surgery. The aims of this study were to assess the safety of early NGT removal by comparing the short-term outcomes of patients with postoperative NGTs and those with no postoperative NGT.

METHODS

All patients undergoing surgery for strangulation or adhesive SBO between January the 1st of 2014 and December the 31st of 2017 were retrospectively included.

RESULTS

Among the 123 included, NGT was removed immediately after the end of the procedure in 26 cases (21.1%) and 19 patients required NGT replacement (15.4%). In univariate analysis, early removal of NGT was significantly associated with a reduction of overall morbidity, severe morbidity and postoperative ileus occurrence. Multivariate analysis confirmed that NGT left in place was a risk factor for postoperative ileus [Odd Ratio (OR) 4.9, Confidence Interval (CI) 95% 1.3-19.2; p = 0.02], while it has no incidence on severe morbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

Early NGT removal after ASBO surgery seemed to be feasible, safe and efficient, at least in selected patients. This primary study represents the initial foundations for building the implementation of ERAS protocols after ASBO surgery.

The concept of peri-operative medicine to prevent major adverse events and improve outcome in surgical patients: A narrative review

: Peri-operative Medicine is the patient-centred and value-based multidisciplinary peri-operative care of surgical patients. Peri-operative stress, that is the collective response to stimuli occurring before, during and after surgery, is, together with pre-existing comorbidities, the pathophysiological basis of major adverse events. The ultimate goal of Peri-operative Medicine is to promote high quality recovery after surgery. Clinical scores and/or biomarkers should be used to identify patients at high risk of developing major adverse events throughout the peri-operative period. Allocation of high-risk patients to specific care pathways with peri-operative organ protection, close surveillance and specific early interventions is likely to improve patient-relevant outcomes, such as disability, health-related quality of life and mortality.

Impact of nutritional status/risk and post-operative nutritional management on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is prevalent in patients undergoing gastrointestinal (GI) surgery and has been linked to adverse outcomes. The present study aimed to determine the association between early post-operative nutritional status/risk, post-operative nutritional management and clinical outcomes.

METHODS

A prospective observational study was conducted in GI surgical patients with a minimum 3-day post-operative length of stay (LOS). Data on patient demographics, nutritional status/risk, post-operative nutritional management and clinical outcomes were collected. Four markers of nutritional status and risk were assessed: preoperative weight loss, nutrition risk, malnutrition status and hand grip strength. Clinical outcomes included: post-operative LOS, complication and readmissions rates. Multivariate linear and logistic regression were used to test for associations with clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifteen patients (55% female) with mean (SD) age of 60.8 (16.2) years were included. Median (IQR) post-operative LOS was 8.0 days (4.5-11.5), 37% of participants developed at least one complication post-operatively and 24% were readmitted within 30-days of discharge. Mean number of nil-by mouth (NBM) days post-operatively was 0.7 (1.2) and the average time to commence feeding was 3.3 (2.2) days after surgery. Poor nutritional status/risk between days 3-5 post-operatively assessed through all four markers was associated with longer post-operative LOS (all P < 0.05). No association was found between number of NBM days, time to feeding and clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Poor early post-operative nutritional status/risk is associated with longer post-operative LOS in patients undergoing GI surgery, which may facilitate simple identification of patients at high priority for nutritional intervention. The present study highlights the heterogeneity in post-operative nutritional management practices.

The Use of Coffee to Decrease the Incidence of Postoperative Ileus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE

To investigate the efficacy of providing coffee to elective abdominal surgery patients, immediately postoperatively, to lessen postoperative ileus.

DESIGN

A systematic review with meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials published since 2012.

METHODS

Methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane guidelines. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations assessment tool evaluated the quality of the evidence. Subgroup analyses were completed if the I² statistic demonstrated heterogeneity (greater than 50%).

FINDINGS

Coffee was statistically significant in shortening the time between surgery and the first passage of stool (mean difference, -9.38; 95% confidence interval, -17.60 to -1.16; P = .03). Although not statistically significant (P = .20), the overall effect favored shorter hospital stays for those patients receiving coffee.

CONCLUSIONS

The current systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that coffee given as early as 2 hours postoperatively decreases time to first bowel movement. In addition, patients tolerated solid food faster and were discharged sooner when given coffee immediately postoperatively.

Perioperative Transcutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation to Reduce Postoperative Ileus After Colorectal Resection: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Postoperative ileus involves an inflammatory pathway characterized by an increase of inflammation mediators in the colon wall; this could probably be prevented by sacral nerve neuromodulation. The posterior tibial nerve can be stimulated electrically to mimic neuromodulation.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to assess the efficacy of transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation in reducing the delay in GI motility recovery, to assess the safety of posterior tibial nerve stimulation in a perioperative setting, and to assess the efficacy of posterior tibial nerve stimulation in reducing the occurrence of postoperative ileus.

DESIGN

This was a preliminary randomized controlled study.

SETTINGS

This study was conducted in 1 academic hospital in France.

PATIENTS

Forty patients undergoing an elective colectomy were included and randomly assigned into 2 groups, posterior tibial nerve stimulation or placebo, according to the side of colectomy and the surgical access size.

INTERVENTION

Perioperative posterior tibial nerve stimulation or placebo was performed 3 times per day according to the randomly assigned group.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Delay in GI motility recovery (passage of stool and tolerance of solid food) was measured.

RESULTS

Of the 40 patients included, 34 were included in the final analysis, in which 2 patients in the placebo group were allocated the incorrect device. The 6 other patients were secondarily excluded because of protocol deviation. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the mean delay in GI motility recovery was 3.6 and 3.11 days (in the placebo and tibial nerve stimulation groups; p = 0.60). Occurrence of postoperative ileus was not significantly higher in the placebo group (35.3% vs 17.6%; p = 0.42). In the per-protocol analysis, we observed the same trends except for the occurrence of postoperative ileus, which was significantly higher in the placebo group (p = 0.045). Tolerance to posterior tibial nerve stimulation was good, and all of the patients completed the protocol.

LIMITATIONS

The amplitude of stimulation is set according to patient sensation, so some patients could have been aware of their group. In addition there were some inherent limitations because of the preliminary nature of the study and several deviations from the protocol.

CONCLUSIONS

Posterior tibial nerve stimulation was safe in a perioperative setting and had a potential effect on GI motility recovery. The results of this study will be useful for sample size calculations in a larger prospective randomized trial. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A708.