Wu D, Wang J. Impact of enhanced recovery after surgery on postoperative pain management and functional recovery in patients with colorectal cancer. World J Gastrointest Surg 2025; 17(9): 107356 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i9.107356]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jing Wang, Department of Nursing, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, No. 2 Section 5, Heping Road, Linghe District, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China. 13840646395@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Observational 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/
World J Gastrointest Surg. Sep 27, 2025; 17(9): 107356 Published online Sep 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i9.107356
Impact of enhanced recovery after surgery on postoperative pain management and functional recovery in patients with colorectal cancer
Dan Wu, Jing Wang
Dan Wu, Department of General Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
Jing Wang, Department of Nursing, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Wu D designed the research and wrote the first manuscript; Wu D and Wang J contributed to conceiving the research and analyzing data; Wu D conducted the analysis and provided guidance for the research; all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, No. JYDSY-KXYJ-IEC-2025-028.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
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 Wang, Department of Nursing, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, No. 2 Section 5, Heping Road, Linghe District, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China. 13840646395@163.com
Received: May 28, 2025 Revised: July 9, 2025 Accepted: July 31, 2025 Published online: September 27, 2025 Processing time: 119 Days and 0.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Limited evidence exists regarding the role of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols in optimizing pain management and functional recovery after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery.
AIM
To evaluate the impact of ERAS protocols on postoperative pain management and functional recovery in patients undergoing CRC surgery.
METHODS
A total of 109 patients with CRC admitted to The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University between June 2021 and June 2024 were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups: A control group (n = 50) receiving standard perioperative care and an observation group (n = 59) managed under an ERAS protocol. Clinical outcomes, including postoperative pain intensity [assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)], functional recovery indicators (time to first ambulation, bowel sound recovery, first anal gas discharge, and first defecation), average sleep duration on postoperative day 3, sleep quality (measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), length of hospitalization, quality of life (evaluated using the Short Form 36 Health Survey), and incidence of postoperative complications (e.g., surgical site infection, pulmonary infection, abdominal distension/pain, and intestinal obstruction), were systematically compared between the two groups.
RESULTS
The observation group exhibited significantly lower VAS scores at 72 hours postoperatively, shorter durations of maximum VAS scores, earlier recovery of functional indicators (time to first ambulation, bowel sound recovery, first anal gas discharge, and first defecation), and shorter hospitalization compared with the control group. Additionally, average sleep duration on postoperative day 3 was significantly longer in the observation group. Furthermore, the observation group demonstrated significantly improved sleep quality (lower Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores) and higher quality of life (higher Short Form 36 Health Survey scores across all domains) than both the baseline and control groups. The incidence of total postoperative complications was also significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group.
CONCLUSION
ERAS protocols are highly effective in relieving postoperative pain, accelerating functional recovery, and improving overall clinical outcomes in patients with CRC undergoing surgery, supporting their broader clinical application.
Core Tip: Colorectal cancer has a high incidence and mortality. This study evaluated the effectiveness of enhanced recovery after surgery protocols on postoperative pain management and functional recovery in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery, and found significant improvements in pain control, functional recovery, quality of life, length of hospitalization, and complication rates.
