Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31768827›Full record

SynthesisJournal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract2020

Prehabilitation Programs Improve Exercise Capacity Before and After Surgery in Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery Patients: A Meta-Analysis.

Christine S M Lau, Ronald S Chamberlain

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
30citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

30 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 58 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. The effects of psychological intervention on negative emotions, pain, and sleep in patients with advanced colon cancer.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025
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  12. Prehabilitation and postoperative outcomes in colorectal surgery: an umbrella review.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Christine S M LauAbrazo Community Health Network, Abrazo Central Campus, Phoenix, AZ, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3125-3951
Ronald S ChamberlainAbrazo Community Health Network, Abrazo Central Campus, Phoenix, AZ, USA. ronscottc@gmail.com.
Health Net · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPrehabilitation programs or interventions are employed prior to surgery with the aim to optimize the patient before surgery and to improve their physiologic ability to recover from surgery. Components of these programs often include exercise, nutritional supplementation, and psychological interventions. This meta-analysis examines the impact of prehabilitation programs on both surgical and patient outcomes among gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients undergoing surgery.

methodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify all published randomized control trials (RCT) evaluating the use of prehabilitation programs (with one or more interventions) in GI cancer surgery patients. Outcomes assessed were 6-min walk distance (6MWD), postoperative complications, major complications (as defined as Clavien Dindo grade ≥ 3), surgical site infections (SSI), pneumonia, length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission, and mortality.

resultsEleven RCTs including 929 patients (475 prehabilitation program and 454 controls) were analyzed. Prehabilitation programs were associated with statistically significant improvements in 6MWD between baseline and immediately prior to surgery (MD = 32.542 m; 95% CI, 10.774-54.310; p = 0.003) and 4-8 weeks after surgery (MD = 48.220 m; 95% CI, 1.532-94.908; p = 0.043) compared with patients who did not receive prehabilitation programs. Similar rates of postoperative complications, major complications, SSI, pneumonia, 30-day readmission, and mortality, as well as LOS, were observed (p > 0.05).

conclusionsPrehabilitation programs improve exercise capacity both before and after surgery, with no significant difference in LOS, or rates of postoperative complications, 30-day readmission, and mortality. Future studies assessing the different components of prehabilitation programs to identify the most beneficial interventions are required.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal NeoplasmsPreoperative ExerciseExerciseExercise ToleranceHumansPostoperative ComplicationsPreoperative CareCancerExerciseGastrointestinalNutritionPrehabilitationPreoperativeSurgery

Identifiers

PMID31768827
OpenAlexW2990024501

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.