ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical outcome before and immediately after implementation of fast track surgery protocol on patients with gastric cancer.Methods One hundred and thirty patients with gastric cancer in our hospital underwent an elective,uncomplicated,open gastric surgery before (Traditional care group,n =65) and immediately after implementing fast track surgery (Fast track surgery group,n =65).Postoperative food and fluid intake,mobilization,length of hospital stay,and clinical outcome were recorded and analysed,and a interview-based assessment was performed on days 14 and 30 postoperatively.Results Patients implemented fast track surgery were associated with a significantly earlier resumption of mobilization and oral fluids and normal diet,shorter duration of intravenous infusion compared with traditional care patients 0.3 (0-1) d vs 3.3 (2-4) d,0.2(0-1) d vs 3.5(3-4) d,3.3(3-4) d vs 5.6(5-6) d,3.4(3-4) d vs 5.2(5-6) d; P=0.000,respectively.Postoperative hospital stay was also shorter in fast track surgery group 6.6 (6-8) d vs 8.6 (8-9) d ; P =0.000.Instrumental activities of daily living decreased in both groups on day 14,but significantly more in the traditional care group,despite having a higher preoperative instrumental activities of daily living level compared with the fast track surgery group 5.0 (3-6) vs 3.0 (3-5),4.0 (3-6) vs 3.0 (3-5) ; P =0.000,respectively.Preoperative fatigue score was not different between two groups,but the fatigue score was significantly increased on day 14,and returned to normal value on day 30 in the traditional care group 2.0 (1-5) vs 3.0 (1-5),2.0(1-5) vs 2.0(1-6) ; P =0.005,P =0.065.Total length of sleep on day 14 was increased significantly in the traditional care group,but not changed in the fast track surgery group compared with preoperative value 9.0 (6-11) vs 8.0(5-10) h,8.0(5-11) vs 8.0(6-10) h; P=0.000,P=0.327.Conclusions A fast track surgery protocol can lessen postoperative stress reactions and enhance recovery for patients with gastric cancer undergoing an elective,uncomplicated,open resection.