[A prospective study on quality of life in post-operative colorectal cancer patients with fast-track]

To explore the impact of postoperative recovery and short term quality of life in the patients with colorectal cancer in fast track model.

There were 122 patients enrolled into this prospective study in Gastrointestinal Surgery Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, from October 2008 to January 2009, and 121 patients completed the whole study. The patients were divided into the fast track group (62 cases) and the tradition track group (59 cases), postoperative recovery and the QLQ-C30 scores were evaluated at one week after the surgery.

The fast track group showed earlier recovery than the tradition group in first aerofluxus [(3.96 +/- 1.40) d vs. (5.66 +/- 3.11) d, P < 0.05], first intake [(3.12 +/- 1.93) d vs. (5.96 +/- 3.23) d, P < 0.05], first ambulation [(2.05 +/- 1.16) d vs. (5.13 +/- 1.36) d, P < 0.05] and in-hospital time post-operation [(7.85 +/- 5.31) d vs. (10.11 +/- 3.37) d, P < 0.05]. The incidence of wound infection (1.61% vs. 6.78%, P < 0.05) and intestinal obstruction (1.61% vs. 8.47%, P < 0.05) in fast track were significantly lower than those in the traditional track group. The general health of fast track in C30 is better too (80.46 +/- 15.54 vs. 76.58 +/- 15.28, P < 0.05). In the functional assessment of C30, the physical function (87.35 +/- 5.12 vs. 85.02 +/- 8.70, P < 0.05) and emotional function (90.00 +/- 0.00 vs. 85.35 +/- 12.39, P < 0.05) both were better in the fast track group. In the symptom assessment of C30, fast track group is less fatigue (71.70 +/- 2.86 vs. 87.12 +/- 10.80, P < 0.05) and pain (71.78 +/- 3.76 vs. 77.63 +/- 8.33, P < 0.05). Better sleep (75.78 +/- 11.68 vs. 82.70 +/- 19.40, P < 0.05) and less loss of appetite(73.24 +/- 8.60 vs. 78.02 +/- 16.42, P < 0.05) were found in fast track group.

The fast track group manifested faster in postoperative recovery and can improve the quality of life in postoperative patients with colorectal cancer.