Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fast-track rehabilitation in elderly patients over 65 years of age, following laparoscopic surgery to remove colorectal cancer.
Method: A total of 78 elderly patients with colorectal cancer who underwent laparoscopic colorectal resection were randomly assigned to receive either the fast-track care programme (n = 40) or the conventional perioperative care protocol (control group, n = 38). Medical personnel conducting the study were blinded to patients' clinical outcomes prior to statistical analysis. The fast-track protocol included no preoperative mechanical bowel irrigation, immediate oral alimentation and earlier postoperative ambulation exercise. The length of postoperative hospital stay, the length of time to regain bowel function and the rate of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.
Results: The length of time to regain bowel function, including the passage of flatus[31 (26-40) h vs 38 (32-51) h, P = 0.001], to the first bowel movement [55 (48-63) h vs 64 (48-71) h, P = 0.009] and to start a liquid diet (12 [11-16] h vs 47 [35-50] h, P = 0.000) were significantly shorter in patients receiving the fast-track care protocol compared with those receiving the conventional care protocol. A shorter duration of postoperative hospital stay was recorded in patients receiving the fast-track program than in those receiving conventional care (P = 0.0001). A reduced percentage of patients who developed general complications was also observed in the fast-track group (5.0%vs 21.1%, P = 0.045).
Conclusion: This randomized controlled trial has shown that in the elderly undergoing laparoscopic colorectal surgery, the fast-track recovery programme resulted in a more rapid postoperative recovery, earlier discharge from hospital and fewer general complications compared with a conventional postoperative protocol.
© 2011 The Authors. Colorectal Disease © 2011 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.