773 The Impact of Introducing an Enhanced Recovery Nurse Practitioner on Colorectal ERP Protocol Compliance and Surgical Outcome: A Single-Unit Experience

Introduction

The enhanced recovery programme (ERP) is a validated perioperative care plan that has consistently shown to reduce morbidity and improve patient outcomes. Our trust introduced ERP for major elective colorectal procedures in 2007. However, it had been noted that compliance to protocol was variable. This audit was conducted to see if introduction of an enhanced recovery nurse (ERN) improved compliance.

Method

This was a single-centre, retrospective, closed-loop audit; each cycle consists of resectional cases over a 1-year period. Perioperative data were collected from preoperative assessment documents, anaesthetic charts, operation notes and post-operative patient records. Compliance to 20elements of the agreed ERP protocol and length of stay (LOS) were assessed. First-cycle results were presented locally, leading to protocol revision and introduction of a dedicated ERN. Two years following ERN introduction, data were re-audited and compliance assessed. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-squared test or independent t-test as appropriate.

Results

Among 101 procedures analysed in the first-cycle, compliance to ERP elements ranged between 30-95%. Following intervention, among 113 cases, compliance improved to 46-99%. Statistically significant improvements were observed in post-operative ERP elements. Compliance to early cessation of intravenous fluids increased from 44% to 61% (p = 0.02), and early urinary catheter removal increased two-fold, from 30% to 62% (p < 0.01). Patients resumed light diet earlier and mobilised out of bed sooner. LOS improved from median of 7(1-48) to 6(2-50) days (p = 0.03).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that the introduction of a dedicated ERN is associated with significantly improved protocol compliance and reduced LOS following major colorectal resection.

[Application of single incision plus one port laparoscopic surgery in radical right hemicolon cancer surgery]

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and advantages of the SILS+1 technique in the radical right hemicolectomy, by comparing the short-term efficacy, postoperative recovery of intestinal function, and stress and inflammatory response of patients with right-sided colon cancer undergoing the conventional 5-hole laparoscopic technique or the single incision plus one port laparoscopic surgery (SILS+1). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed. Thirty-five patients with right-sided colon cancer undergoing SILS+1 surgery at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Fujian Cancer Hospital from January 2018 to September 2020 were enrolled in the SILS+1 group. Then a total of 44 patients who underwent completely 5-hole laparoscopic right hemicolectomy at the same time were selected as the conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS) group. The intraoperative observation indexes (operative time, intraoperative blood loss, and incision length) and postoperative observation indexes (time to ambulation after surgery, time to flatus, pain score in the first 3 days after surgery, hospitalization days, number of lymph node dissections, postoperative complication morbidity, and postoperative total protein, albumin and C-reaction protein) were compared between the two groups. Results: There was no conversion to laparotomy or laparoscopic-assisted surgery in both groups. All the patients successfully completed radical right hemicolectomy under total laparoscopy. There were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, body mass index or tumor stage between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with the CLS group, the SILS+1 group had shorter incision length [(5.1±0.6) cm vs. (8.5±4.1) cm, t=4.124, P=0.012], shorter time to the first ambulation (median: 27.6 h vs. 49.3 h, Z=4.386, P=0.026), and shorter time to the first flatus (median:42.8 h vs. 63.2 h, Z=13.086, P=0.012), lower postoperative pain score [postoperative 1-d: 2.0 ± 1.1 vs. 3.6 ± 0.9; postoperative 2-d: 1.4 ± 0.2 vs. 2.9±1.4; postoperative 3-d: 1.1 ± 0.1 vs. 2.3±0.3, F=49.128, P=0.003), shorter postoperative hospital stay [(9.1 ± 2.7) d vs. (11.2 ± 2.2) d, t=3.267,P=0.001], which were all statistically significant (all P<0.05). On the second day after surgery, as compared to CLS group, SILS+1 group had higher total protein level [(59.7±18.2) g/L vs. (43.0±12.3) g/L, t=2.214, P=0.003], higher albumin level [(33.6±7.3) g/L vs. (23.7±5.4) g/L, t=5.845, P<0.001], but lower C-reactive protein level [(16.3 ± 3.1) g/L vs. (63.3 ± 4.5) g/L, t=4.961, P<0.001], which were all statistically significant. There were no significant differences in the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, number of harvested lymph node, number of metastatic lymph node, and postoperative complication morbidity (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The SILS+1 technique has good operability and potential for popularization. Under the premise of radical resection, this technology not only reduces incision number and postoperative physical pain, but also speeds up postoperative recovery and shortens hospital stay.

[Effect of preservation of left colic artery on postoperative anastomotic leakage of patients with rectal cancer after neoadjuvant therapy]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of preservation of left colic artery (LCA) on postoperative anastomotic leakage in patients with rectal cancer after neoadjuvant therapy. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to collect data of rectal cancer patients at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Fujian Cancer Hospital from September 2014 to August 2017. Inclusion criteria: (1) age of 18 to 79 years; (2) rectal adenocarcinoma confirmed by postoperative pathology; (3) patients without preoperative serious cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease receiving preoperative neoadjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy; (4) laparoscopic-assisted anterior rectal resection and distal ileostomy were performed simultaneously; (5) complete clinical data. Exclusion criteria: patients with extensive abdominal metastasis, or distant organ metastasis during operation, and combined organ resection. According to whether LCA was retained during operation, the patients were divided into two groups, then the intraoperative and postoperative clinical outcomes were compared. Moreover, univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze risk factors of postoperative anastomotic leakage. Results: A total of 125 patients were included in this study, including 56 patients in the retained LCA group and 69 patients in the non-retained LCA group. Differences in baseline data, such as gender, age, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, hemoglobin, distance between tumor and anal margin, maximum diameter of tumor, preoperative neoadjuvant therapy, and ypTNM stage, between retained LCA group and non-retained LCA group were not statistically significant (all P>0.05), indicating that two groups were comparable. Meanwhile there were no significant differences in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, total number of lymph node harvested, number of harvested lymph node at the root of inferior mesenteric artery, circumferential margin, anastomotic bleeding, or postoperative hospital stay between two groups (all P>0.05). Thirteen patients in the non-retained LCA group (18.8%) developed postoperative anastomotic leakage, including 7 cases of grade A, 5 cases of grade B and 1 case of grade C, while in the retained LCA group, only 5.4% (3/56) of patients developed postoperative anastomotic leakage, including 1 case of grade A and 2 cases of grade B without case of grade C, whose difference was statistically significant (U=1674.500, P=0.028). Univariate analysis showed that preoperative hemoglobin <120 g/L and non-retained LCA were associated with postoperative anastomotic leakage (both P<0.05). Multivariate analysis cofirmed that preoperative hemoglobin < 120 g/L (OR=3.508, 95% CI: 1.158 to 10.628, P=0.017) and non-retained LCA (OR=4.065, 95%CI: 1.074 to 15.388, P=0.031) were independent risk factors for postoperative anastomotic leakage. Median follow-up time was 31 months (16 to 51 months), and no long-term complication was found. Local recurrence and distant metastasis were found in 1 case (1.8%) and 7 case (12.5%) in the retained LCA group, while those were found in 2 cases (2.9%) and 5 cases (7.2%) respectively, in the non-retained LCA group, whose differences were not statistically significant (P=1.000, P=0.321 respectively). Conclusion: Preservation of left colic artery not only can ensure radical lymph node dissection efficacy under the condition of similar operation time and blood loss, but also can effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative anastomotic leakage for rectal cancer patients after neoadjuvant therapy.

Procyanidin induces apoptosis and necrosis of prostate cancer cell line PC-3 in a mitochondrion-dependent manner

Our objective was to study the effects of procyanidin on the cell death of human hormone-resistant prostate carcinoma cell line PC-3 and its mechanism. PC-3 cells were treated with procyanidin of different concentrations. The cell apoptosis rates were detected by annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide double staining followed by flow cytometry (FCM) analysis. Mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsim) was analyzed by FCM with rhodamine 123 staining. After 24 hours of treatment with 300 microg/mL procyanidin, the apoptosis rate of PC-3 cells was 44.86%, and Deltapsim was significantly decreased by 87.30%. With the extending of procyanidin treatment, the apoptosis rate decreased whereas the necrosis rate increased. Procyanidin could induce apoptosis and necrosis in PC-3 cells, which might be related to down-regulation of Deltapsim.