Chen J, Zhang AQ. Impact of multimodal rehabilitation on physical function in post-intensive care syndrome patients after gastrointestinal tumor surgery. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2026; 18(4): 116420 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i4.116420]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ai-Qin Zhang, Professor, Critical Care Unit, Jinling Clinical Medical College Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (PLA Eastern Theater Command General Hospital), No. 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China. aq09z@126.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Apr 15, 2026 (publication date) through Apr 11, 2026
Times Cited of This Article
Times Cited (0)
Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology
ISSN
1948-5204
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Share the Article
Chen J, Zhang AQ. Impact of multimodal rehabilitation on physical function in post-intensive care syndrome patients after gastrointestinal tumor surgery. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2026; 18(4): 116420 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i4.116420]
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Apr 15, 2026; 18(4): 116420 Published online Apr 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i4.116420
Impact of multimodal rehabilitation on physical function in post-intensive care syndrome patients after gastrointestinal tumor surgery
Jing Chen, Ai-Qin Zhang
Jing Chen, Critical Care Unit, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China
Ai-Qin Zhang, Critical Care Unit, Jinling Clinical Medical College Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (PLA Eastern Theater Command General Hospital), Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Chen J contributed to research conception and design, data collection, data analysis, and initial paper writing; Zhang AQ contributed to research funding acquisition, project management and supervision, and paper review and critical revision. Both authors approved the final version to publish.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by Ethics Committee of the Second People’s Hospital of Changzhou (Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University), No.[2025]KY344-01.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee as the study utilized historical anonymized data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The raw and processed data supporting the conclusions of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Ai-Qin Zhang, Professor, Critical Care Unit, Jinling Clinical Medical College Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University (PLA Eastern Theater Command General Hospital), No. 305 Zhongshan East Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210000, Jiangsu Province, China. aq09z@126.com
Received: November 18, 2025 Revised: December 17, 2025 Accepted: January 23, 2026 Published online: April 15, 2026 Processing time: 140 Days and 22.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This retrospective analysis shows that early initiation of an 8-week multimodal rehabilitation nursing program significantly improves physical functional recovery in patients with gastrointestinal tumors and post-intensive care syndrome. Beyond enhancing handgrip strength, nutritional status, and mobility, multimodal rehabilitation nursing favorably influenced key pathophysiological processes by reducing systemic inflammation, as reflected by lower interleukin-6 levels, attenuating muscle catabolism through myostatin modulation, and improving neuromuscular electrophysiological function, as evidenced by increased compound muscle action potential amplitude/area ratios. These results support the incorporation of mechanism-based, multidisciplinary nursing interventions into routine post-operative care to improve long-term patient outcomes.
