Prospective Randomized Trial of Immediate Postoperative Use of Regular Diet Versus Clear Liquid Diet in Major Colorectal Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery protocols are becoming standard practice after major colorectal surgery. An increasing body of evidence suggests that early feeding should be encouraged; however, whether a clear liquid diet or solid diet should be given immediately after surgery is undetermined. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate whether regular diet was superior to clear liquid diet beginning on postoperative day 0 after major colorectal surgery. DESIGN: Superiority trial design. SETTING: Urban tertiary center. PATIENTS: Consecutive patients undergoing abdominal colorectal surgery from September 2017 to June 2018. INTERVENTIONS: Eligible patients received either 1) clear liquid diet on postoperative day 0 with advancement to regular diet on postoperative day 1 or 2) regular diet on postoperative day 0 and continuing for the duration of patients' recovery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary end point was diet tolerance, defined by the absence of vomiting by postoperative day 2. RESULTS: A total of 105 patients were randomly assigned with 53 in the clear liquid diet group and 52 in the regular diet group. All randomly assigned patients were included in the analysis. The rate of diet tolerance by postoperative day 2 was similar between groups. Rates of ileus, antiemetic usage, narcotic usage, time to return of bowel function, and pain/nausea/bloating scores were similar between the 2 groups. Significantly more patients in the clear liquid diet group (91%) tolerated their diet than did the regular diet group (71%) on postoperative day 0 ( p = 0.01). LIMITATIONS: Diet tolerance was only monitored during inpatient stay. The rate of postoperative ileus was difficult to capture as its clinical definition encompassed a wide range of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Regular diet immediately after abdominal colorectal surgery was not superior to a clear liquid diet with respect to diet tolerance by postoperative day 2. Furthermore, starting regular diet on postoperative day 0 was not associated with any outcome benefits compared to clear liquid diet. ENSAYO PROSPECTIVO ALEATORIZADO SOBRE EL USO POSTOPERATORIO INMEDIATO DE UNA DIETA NORMAL VERSUS UNA DIETA DE LQUIDOS CLAROS EN CIRUGAS MAYORES COLORRECTALES: ANTECEDENTES:Los protocolos de recuperación mejorada se están convirtiendo en una práctica estandarizada tras una cirugía mayor colorrectal. La creciente evidencia sugiere la alimentación temprana debe ser estimulada, sin embargo, no se ha determinado si se debe administrar una dieta de líquidos claros o una dieta sólida inmediatamente después de la cirugía.OBJETIVO:Evaluar si la dieta regular fue superior a la dieta de líquidos claros a partir del día cero del postoperatorio tras una cirugía mayor colorrectal.DISEÑO:Diseño de prueba de superioridad.AJUSTE:Centro terciario urbano.PACIENTES:Pacientes consecutivos sometidos a cirugía abdominal colorrectal desde septiembre de 2017 hasta junio de 2018INTERVENCIONES:Los pacientes elegibles recibieron ya sea 1) dieta de líquidos claros en el día 0 del postoperatorio con avance a la dieta regular en el día 1 del postoperatorio o 2) dieta regular en el día 0 del postoperatorio y continuaron durante la recuperación de los pacientes.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADO:El criterio principal de valoración fue la tolerancia a la dieta, definida por la ausencia de vómitos en el segundo día posoperatorio.RESULTADOS:Un total de 105 pacientes fueron aleatorizados con 53 en el grupo de dieta de líquidos claros y 52 en el grupo de dieta regular. Todos los pacientes aleatorizados fueron incluidos en el análisis. La tasa de tolerancia a la dieta en el segundo día postoperatorio fue similar entre los grupos. Las tasas de íleo, del uso de antieméticos, del uso de narcóticos, del tiempo de recuperación de la función intestinal y puntajes de dolor/náuseas/distensión abdominal fueron similares entre los dos grupos. Significativamente más pacientes en el grupo de dieta de líquidos claros (91%) toleraron su dieta comparada al grupo de dieta regular (71%) en el día postoperatorio 0 ( p = 0,01).LIMITACIONES:La tolerancia a la dieta solo fue monitorizada durante la estadía hospitalaria. La tasa de íleo postoperatorio fue difícil de registrar debido a que su definición clínica abarcaba una amplia variedad de síntomas.CONCLUSIONES:La dieta regular inmediatamente después de la cirugía abdominal colorrectal no fue superior a una dieta de líquidos claros con respecto a la tolerancia de la dieta en el día 2 del postoperatorio. Además, comenzar una dieta regular el día cero del postoperatorio no se asoció con ningún beneficio en los resultados en comparación con la dieta de líquidos claros. (Traducción-Dr. Osvaldo Gauto ).

Impact of postoperative telemedicine visit versus in-person visit on patient satisfaction: A randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Although telemedicine use has increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, the impact of telemedicine versus in-person postoperative visits on patient satisfaction has not been studied prospectively. We hypothesized that telemedicine visits would be noninferior to in-person visits in terms of postoperative colorectal surgery patient satisfaction. METHODS: We conducted a randomized trial of consecutive adult patients undergoing transabdominal colorectal surgery from September 2020 to February 2021. Eligible participants were randomized 1:1 to either receive a telemedicine visit (Arm T) or an in-person visit (Arm I) for their first postoperative appointment. Subsequently, participants in Arm T completed a second postoperative visit in person, and participants in Arm I completed a second postoperative visit via telemedicine. All participants completed a patient satisfaction survey electronically within 24 hours after each postoperative visit. The primary endpoint was total patient satisfaction score. Secondary endpoints included patient-reported safety score, length of visit, and willingness of patients to recommend the practice to their peers. Fisher's exact test, χ2 analysis, and Student's t test were used to compare outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 46 patients were analyzed with 23 each in Arm T and Arm I. The mean age of our study cohort was 50.6 (standard deviation 17.7) years and 52% were female. No significant differences were found between groups in terms of baseline characteristics. With respect to our primary endpoint of total satisfaction score, patient satisfaction scores in Arm T were non-inferior to those in Arm I. Similarly, there was no significant difference in satisfaction scores after the second postoperative visit when the visit types were reversed. We did not find any significant differences between groups in terms of our secondary endpoints. CONCLUSION: Postoperative telemedicine visits were a safe and time-efficient option that maintained high patient satisfaction compared with in-person postoperative visits.