Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39844027›Full record

SynthesisBMC gastroenterology2025

The role of exercise-based prehabilitation in enhancing surgical outcomes for patients with digestive system cancers: a meta-analysis.

Shasha Xu, Rong Yin, Haiou Zhu, Yin Gong, Jing Zhu, Changxian Li, Qin Xu

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC gastroenterology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
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

7 authors.

Shasha XuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No.300, Guangzhou Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Rong YinDepartment of Hepatobiliary Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No.300, Guangzhou Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Haiou ZhuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No.300, Guangzhou Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Yin GongDepartment of Hepatobiliary Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No.300, Guangzhou Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Jing ZhuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No.300, Guangzhou Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Changxian LiDepartment of Hepatobiliary Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No.300, Guangzhou Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China.
Qin XuDepartment of Nursing School, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu Province, China. qinxu@njmu.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrehabilitation is a crucial component of tumor rehabilitation that attempts to improve patients' preoperative health, although its efficacy in treating patients with cancers of the digestive system is still up for debate.

methodsThe records from PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, Scopus, CNKI and Wan fang database up to November 2024 were systematically searched. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was employed for evaluating the risk of bias in each study, and the PRISMA 2020 checklist provided by the EQUATOR network was utilized.

resultsThrough quality analysis, 20 articles were included, involving 1719 patients. Although its effect on severe complications is still unknown, the prehabilitation significantly decreased overall postoperative complications when compared to standard care, with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.65 to 0.84). Despite not shortening the postoperative hospital stay (MD: -0.13, 95% CI: -0.29 to 0.03), prehabilitation demonstrated notable improvements in the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), with preoperative gains (MD: 25.87, 95% CI: 14.49 to 37.25) and sustained benefits at 4 weeks postoperatively (MD: 22.48, 95% CI: 7.85 to 37.12). However, no significant differences in 6MWD were observed at 6 or 8 weeks postoperatively. The average improvement in 6MWD from baseline to preoperative was 28.99 (95% CI: 10.89 to 47.08, P = 0.002), and from 4 weeks postoperative to baseline, it was 25.95 (95% CI: 6.84 to 45.07, P = 0.008), with no significant change at 8 weeks. The acceptance and completion rates of prehabilitation were commendably high at 61% (95% CI: 47-75%) and 90% (95% CI: 87-93%), respectively, alongside a relatively low dropout rate of 10% (95% CI: 7% to13%).

conclusionsPrehabilitation reduces postoperative complications and improves short-term physical function in digestive surgery patients, with good patient acceptance; however, the long-term effects are unknown due to a lack of follow-up data. REGISTRATION: It was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with the identification code CRD42022361100.

Indexed as

Digestive System NeoplasmsDigestive System Surgical ProceduresPostoperative ComplicationsPreoperative ExerciseHumansLength of StayTreatment OutcomeComplicationsDigestive system cancerFunctional capacityPhysical exercisePrehabilitation

Identifiers

PMID39844027
PMCPMC11753026

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.