Preoperative education in cholecystectomy in the context of a multimodal protocol of perioperative care: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative education is a key point in multimodal protocols of perioperative care. We investigated whether preoperative education for patients undergoing open cholecystectomy would reduce the incidence of perioperative symptoms. METHODS: This was a randomized, single-blinded, clinical trial that included adult (18-65 years old) candidates for elective open cholecystectomy. All patients took part in the ERAS/ACERTO protocol of perioperative care except that only the intervention group received preoperative education. The main endpoints of the study were the presence and intensity of postoperative symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting, pain) measured by a visual analogue scale, 24 h after the operation. RESULTS: A total of 74 patients (34 in the intervention group, 40 in the control group) completed the study. The intervention group had significantly lower median (interquartile range) scores for nausea [0 (4) vs. 2.5 (5.8), p = 0.04] and pain [0.2 (2.3) vs. 3.1 (3.45), p < 0.01] than the controls. High well-being (score ≥ 6) was reported by 79.4 % (27 patients) of the intervention group in contrast to 57.5 % (23 patients) of the controls (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative education is highly effective in the context of a multimodal protocol for enhancing the recovery of patients submitted to open cholecystectomy.

Effects of preoperative feeding with a whey protein plus carbohydrate drink on the acute phase response and insulin resistance. A randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged preoperative fasting increases insulin resistance and current evidence recommends carbohydrate (CHO) drinks 2 hours before surgery. Our hypothesis is that the addition of whey protein to a CHO-based drink not only reduces the inflammatory response but also diminish insulin resistance. METHODS: Seventeen patients scheduled to cholecystectomy or inguinal herniorraphy were randomized and given 474 ml and 237 ml of water (CO group) or a drink containing CHO and milk whey protein (CHO-P group) respectively, 6 and 3 hours before operation. Blood samples were collected before surgery and 24 hours afterwards for biochemical assays. The endpoints of the study were the insulin resistance (IR), the prognostic inflammatory and nutritional index (PINI) and the C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin ratio. A 5% level for significance was established. RESULTS: There were no anesthetic or postoperative complications. The post-operative IR was lower in the CHO-P group when compared with the CO group (2.75 ± 0.72 vs 5.74 ± 1.16; p = 0.03). There was no difference between the two groups in relation to the PINI. The CHO-P group showed a decrease in the both CRP elevation and CRP/albumin ratio (p < 0.05). The proportion of patients who showed CRP/albumin ratio considered normal was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in the CHO-P group (87.5%) than in the CO group (33.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Shortening the pre-operative fasting using CHO and whey protein is safe and reduces insulin resistance and postoperative acute phase response in elective moderate operations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov NCT01354249.