SynthesisInternational journal of colorectal disease2026
Preoperative carbohydrate loading in elective colorectal surgery: postoperative complications and outcomes, a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in International journal of colorectal disease, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study aimed to evaluate the clinical impact of preoperative carbohydrate loading in elective colorectal surgery.
methodsThe review followed the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus and Cochrane CENTRAL (via Wiley) to 1 August 2025. All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating preoperative carbohydrate loading in elective colorectal surgery were assessed. The primary outcome was overall postoperative complications; secondary outcomes included specific types of complications, gastrointestinal recovery time, independent mobilisation, and length of stay (LOS).
resultsA total of 3,483 citations were screened, yielding 13 RCTs with 996 patients (469 received preoperative carbohydrate loading, 198 consumed water and 329 followed overnight fasting). Carbohydrate loading did not significantly affect overall complications or mortality. Secondary outcomes suggested reduced respiratory infections (OR 0.35; p = 0.04), shorter time to first flatus (MD - 0.60; p < 0.01), earlier defecation (MD - 0.58; p = 0.01), shorter LOS (MD - 0.98; p < 0.01) and earlier mobilisation (MD - 0.49; p < 0.01).
conclusionPreoperative carbohydrate loading was not associated with a statistically significant reduction in overall postoperative complications. Sensitivity analyses suggested limited robustness of the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes suggested faster gastrointestinal recovery, fewer respiratory infections, earlier mobilisation and shorter length of stay; however, these findings should be interpreted cautiously given heterogeneity across trials and variability in perioperative pathways. Further high-quality multicentre randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm these effects in contemporary ERAS pathways.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.