Combined preparation before surgery has an uncertain effect on complications
In surgical patients with predefined coexisting lifestyle risks, combined preparation programs did not clearly reduce complications versus usual routines. Only a small evidence base met the review's specific criteria.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review asked whether preparation addressing coexisting lifestyle risks before surgery reduced postoperative complications. The pooled estimate was too uncertain to establish a reduction compared with usual preparation. A larger included trial reported identical complication rates between groups, while the other involved a very small subgroup, leaving the overall effect unresolved.
Only a small number of patients met the review's specific eligibility criteria. The included programs and surgical populations differed, and the pooled confidence interval allowed both fewer and more complications.
What researchers found
Complications within 30 days
Combined preparation versus usual routines: pooled relative risk 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.41 to 1.51). This interval allows both fewer and more complications.
What the programs addressed
Prehabilitation means preparation before surgery. The larger trial combined physical and nutritional interventions for frail colorectal cancer patients; the smaller subgroup received alcohol and smoking interventions before bladder cancer surgery.
Why eligibility matters
The review required lifestyle risks to coexist and be identified beforehand. Many combined preparation trials did not meet that requirement, so these results concern a specific research question rather than every form of preoperative preparation.
The original publication
Impact on postoperative complications of combined prehabilitation targeting co-existing smoking, malnutrition, obesity, alcohol drinking, and physical inactivity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials.
Lydom LN, Jensen SAS, Lauridsen SV et al.
F1000Res · 2024
- PubMed ID
- 40574788
- Record checked
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