Comparative Effectiveness of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Program Combined With Single-Incision Laparoscopic Surgery in Colorectal Cancer Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Is Still Powerful for Colorectal Cancer Patients in COVID-19 Era

Purpose: To figure out whether enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) could effectively improve the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and reduce hospitalization expenses under the shadow of COVID-19, furthermore to alleviate the current situation of medical resource for the whole society. Methods: Patients who underwent CRC surgery in the department of gastrointestinal surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital from January 2020 to March 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. According to protocol adherence, all patients were divided into the ERAS group and the non-ERAS group. Short-term outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 918 patients were enrolled in the study. Based on protocol adherence ≥70%, 265 patients were classified into the ERAS group and the other 653 patients were classified into the non-ERAS group. Patients in the ERAS group had shorter operation time (P < .01), less intraoperative blood loss (P < .01), shorter overall hospital stay (P < .01) and postoperative hospital stay (P < .01), less hospital costs (P < .01), earlier first flatus (P < .01), earlier first stool (P < .01), earlier food tolerance (P < .01), and lower postoperative complications (P < .01). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis manifested that ERAS and cerebrovascular disease were predictive factors of postoperative overall complications. In univariate analyses, cerebrovascular disease (P = .033, OR = 2.225, 95% CI = 1.066-4.748), time of the surgery (P = .026, OR = 1.417, 95% CI = 1.043-1.925), and ERAS (P < .01, OR = 0.450, 95% CI = 0.307-0.661) were predictive factors. Furthermore, in the multivariate analysis, ERAS (P < .01, OR = 0.440, 95% CI = 0.295-0.656) and cerebrovascular disease (P = .016, OR = 2.575, 95% CI = 1.190-5.575) were independent predictive factors of postoperative overall complications. Conclusion: In summary, under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ERAS could still reduce the financial burden of patients and reduce the incidence of short-term postoperative complications. However, whether the effects of ERAS were enhanced after the pandemic and the long-term outcomes of CRC obey ERAS remained to be further explored.

Body mass index-based predictions and personalized clinical strategies for colorectal cancer in the context of PPPM

Currently colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer worldwide. Body mass index (BMI) is frequently used in CRC screening and risk assessment to quantitatively evaluate weight. However, the impact of BMI on clinical strategies for CRC has received little attention. Within the framework of the predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (3PM/PPPM), we hypothesized that BMI stratification would affect the primary, secondary, and tertiary care options for CRC and we conducted a critical evidence-based review. BMI dynamically influences CRC outcomes, which helps avoiding adverse treatment effects. The outcome of surgical and radiation treatment is adversely affected by overweight (BMI ≥ 30) or underweight (BMI < 20). A number of interventions, such as enhanced recovery after surgery and robotic surgery, can be applied to CRC at all levels of BMI. BMI-controlling modalities such as exercise, diet control, nutritional therapy, and medications may be potentially beneficial for patients with CRC. Patients with overweight are advised to lose weight through diet, medication, and physical activity while patients suffering of underweight require more focus on nutrition. BMI assists patients with CRC in better managing their weight, which decreases the incidence of adverse prognostic events during treatment. BMI is accessible, noninvasive, and highly predictive of clinical outcomes in CRC. The cost-benefit of the PPPM paradigm in developing countries can be advanced, and the clinical benefit for patients can be improved with the promotion of BMI-based clinical strategy models for CRC.

Can an incomplete ERAS protocol reduce postoperative complications compared with conventional care in laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer? A multicenter observational cohort and propensity score-matched analysis

Background

The patients undergoing laparoscopic radical colorectomy in many Chinese hospitals do not achieve high compliance with the ERAS (enhanced recovery programs after surgery) protocol.

Methods

The clinical data from 1,258 patients were collected and divided into the non-ERAS and incomplete ERAS groups.

Results

A total of 1,169 patients were screened for inclusion. After propensity score-matched analysis (PSM), 464 pairs of well-matched patients were generated for comparative study. Incomplete ERAS reduced the incidence of postoperative complications (p = 0.002), both mild (6.7% vs. 10.8%, p = 0.008) and severe (3.2% vs. 6.0%, p = 0.008). Statistically, incomplete ERAS reduced indirect surgical complications (27,5.8% vs. 59, 12.7) but not local complications (19,4.1% vs. 19, 4.1%). The subgroup analysis of postoperative complications revealed that all patients benefited from the incomplete ERAS protocol regardless of sex (male, p = 0.037, 11.9% vs. 17.9%; female, p = 0.010, 5.9% vs. 14.8%) or whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered (neoadjuvant chemotherapy, p = 0.015, 7.4% vs. 24.5%; no neoadjuvant chemotherapy, p = 0.018, 10.2% vs. 15.8%). Younger patients (<60 year, p = 0.002, 7.6% vs. 17.5%) with a low BMI (<22.84, 9.4% vs. 21.1%, p < 0.001), smaller tumor size (<4.0 cm, 8.1% vs. 18.1%, p = 0.004), no fundamental diseases (8.8% vs. 17.0%, p = 0.007), a low ASA score (1/2, 9.7% vs. 16.3%, p = 0.004), proximal colon tumors (ascending/transverse colon, 12.2% vs. 24.3%, p = 0.027), poor (6.1% vs. 23.7%, p = 0.012)/moderate (10.3% vs. 15.3%, p = 0.034) tumor differentiation and no preoperative neoadjuvant radiotherapy (10.3% vs. 16.9%, p = 0.004) received more benefit from the incomplete ERAS protocol.

Conclusion

The incomplete ERAS protocol decreased the incidence of postoperative complications, especially among younger patients (<60 year) with a low BMI (<22.84), smaller tumor size (<4.0 cm), no fundamental diseases, low ASA score (1/2), proximal colon tumors (ascending/transverse colon), poor/moderate differentiation and no preoperative neoadjuvant radiotherapy. ERAS should be recommended to as many patients as possible, although some will not exhibit high compliance. In the future, the core elements of ERAS need to be identified to improve the protocol.