Physical Fitness Levels among Colon Cancer Survivors with a Stoma: A Preliminary Study

Exercise and physical activity after stoma surgery: EXPASS recommendations

BACKGROUND

No formal published recommendations exist about exercise and physical activity after stoma surgery and there is no consensus on advice among health professionals. Numerous difficulties after stoma surgery cause physical activity and exercise levels to decrease. Health professionals can feel ill equipped to advise, leaving patients confused and unsupported.

AIM

Formal recommendations for exercise and physical activity are to be established.

METHOD

An expert panel is working under the auspices of the Association of Stoma Care Nurses (ASCN) UK to review existing literature, explore clinical practice and develop formal Delphi consensus recommendations. The document will be aimed at health professionals but will also be available to individuals undergoing surgery.

CONCLUSION

The formal document will be published by the end of 2024 through ASCN UK. The scope of the EXPASS recommendations will cover adults (aged ≥16 years) with any stoma. It will offer peer-reviewed Delphi guidance on physical activity and exercise before and immediately after surgery as well as for long-term living with a stoma. After peer review, the document will provide clarification, consensus and practical recommendations based on the expert panel's evidence, research and clinical opinion.

Effects of modular nursing model for typical issues on enteral nutrition status, immune function, and quality of life in colon cancer patients

Objective

This study aimed to analyze the effect of modular nursing model for typical issues on enteral nutrition status, immune function, and quality of life in patients with colon cancer.

Methods

The clinical data of 106 colorectal cancer patients who came to our hospital from January 2020 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were randomized into the control and observation group based on the different nursing models, with 53 cases in each group. The patients in the control group received a simple enteral nutrition nursing model, while these in the observation group were administrated with a modular nursing model for typical issues on the basis of the control group. The differences in enteral nutrition status, immune function, and quality of life indicators of patients before and after nursing were counted and compared between the two groups.

Results

After the nursing, the contents of albumin, serum albumin, and transferrin were all elevated in both two groups compared with these before the nursing (P < 0.001), and these contents in observation group was markedly higher than these in the control group after the nursing (P < 0.001). The expressions of immune function indicators, including CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+, and SIgA of the two groups after the nursing, were much higher than these before the nursing (P < 0.05), while the contents of CD8+ and IgG were sharply decreased in comparison with these before the nursing (P < 0.05). The improvement of immune indicators in the observation group after the nursing was strongly better than that in the control (P < 0.01). The proportion of the total nursing satisfaction was significantly higher in the observation group than that in the control (P < 0.05). After the nursing, the life quality scores of two groups were both strongly elevated (P < 0.05), and the improvement of life quality scores were memorably better in the observation group after nursing than these in the control (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

For patients undergoing radical colon cancer resection, modular nursing model for typical issues in the early postoperative period is not only safe, but also improves enteral nutrition, can better maintain immune function in the early postoperative period, improve nursing satisfaction, improve patient prognosis, and promote the improvement of the condition, which is worthy of popularization and application.