Deng YH, Zeng CF, Zhou J. Evidence-based nursing to reduce polypharmacy risks in older cholecystectomy patients. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(12): 113860 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i12.113860]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jing Zhou, Associate Chief Nurse, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, No. 26 Daoqian Street, Suzhou 215002, Jiangsu Province, China. zjj06130618@163.com
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Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Retrospective Study
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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/
Dec 27, 2025 (publication date) through Dec 25, 2025
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World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
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1948-9366
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Deng YH, Zeng CF, Zhou J. Evidence-based nursing to reduce polypharmacy risks in older cholecystectomy patients. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(12): 113860 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i12.113860]
World J Gastrointest Surg. Dec 27, 2025; 17(12): 113860 Published online Dec 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i12.113860
Evidence-based nursing to reduce polypharmacy risks in older cholecystectomy patients
Yu-Hua Deng, Cai-Fang Zeng, Jing Zhou
Yu-Hua Deng, Cai-Fang Zeng, Jing Zhou, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Suzhou 215002, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Deng YH was responsible for study design, data collection, manuscript writing, and initial draft preparation; Zeng CF contributed to data curation, statistical analysis, and table preparation; Zhou J led the conceptualization and overall planning of the project, provided critical theoretical guidance, reviewed and revised the academic content of the manuscript, and approved the final version for submission.
Supported by Suzhou Hepatobiliary Surgery Clinical Medical Center Construction Fund Project, No. szlcyxzxj202107.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Suzhou Municipal Hospital (Approval No. KL-2025-053-k01).
Informed consent statement: All study participants and their legal guardians provided written informed consent before recruitment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing Zhou, Associate Chief Nurse, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, No. 26 Daoqian Street, Suzhou 215002, Jiangsu Province, China. zjj06130618@163.com
Received: September 8, 2025 Revised: September 25, 2025 Accepted: November 7, 2025 Published online: December 27, 2025 Processing time: 110 Days and 17.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
With an aging society, older patients undergoing cholecystectomy often have multiple chronic diseases and require long-term multi-medication. Medication complexity significantly increases the risk of medication errors and adverse reactions, and effective nursing interventions are urgently required to ensure medication safety.
AIM
To investigate the efficacy of evidence-based nursing practices in mitigating polypharmacy risks among Suzhou Municipal Hospital Road Front Yard Area, thereby providing clinical guidance.
METHODS
The sixty older patients who underwent cholecystectomy between September 2024 and September 2025 treated with polypharmacy were enrolled. Using random number tables, hey were divided into study and control groups (n = 30 each), who received routine medication nursing and evidence-based nursing, respectively. Pre-intervention and post-intervention comparisons were made between groups for medication knowledge, competence, and adherence scores. The incidences of duplicate medications, missed doses, self-discontinuation, unauthorized alterations, schedule changes, and adverse reaction rates assessed potential medication risks.
RESULTS
Both the study and control groups showed significant increases in medication knowledge, management competence, and adherence scores after intervention (all P < 0.05). The study group had higher post-intervention scores (medication knowledge: 87.29 ± 5.09 vs 70.62 ± 5.38; medication management competence: 63.22 ± 3.11 vs 56.19 ± 4.08; medication adherence: 7.13 ± 1.04 vs 6.05 ± 1.03, all P < 0.05). The incidence of duplicate medication, missed doses, self-discontinuation, unauthorized dose alterations, and schedule modifications decreased in both groups post-intervention (all P < 0.05), with lower rates in the study group (duplicate medication: 13.33% vs 30.0%; missed doses: 10.0% vs 26.67%; all P < 0.05). The study group had a lower adverse reaction rate (3.33% vs 26.67%, P < 0.05) and more patients with potential medication hazard level 0 (83.33% vs 53.33%), while fewer patients had level 2 and 3 hazards (3.33% vs 16.67% and 0% vs 10.00%, respectively; all P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
Evidence-based nursing for polypharmacy risks in older adults undergoing cholecystectomy can enhance medication awareness, improve management and adherence, reduce adverse behaviors, and lower adverse reactions and hazard levels.
Core Tip: Evidence-based nursing effectively reduced the risk of polypharmacy in older patients undergoing cholecystectomy. Improving medication knowledge, management capability, and adherence minimizes adverse medication behaviors, such as duplication, missed doses, and self-discontinuation. This approach also lowers adverse reaction rates and potential medication hazard levels, thereby providing strong clinical support for safer perioperative care.
