Introduction of Early Diet on Postoperative of Colorectal Cancer Surgery: Developing a Protocol for a Diet

Abstract

Introduction: The early feeding after surgery can speed healing, protecting the anastomosis complications, reducing the length of hospitalization. Objective: To evaluate the early introduction of an oral diet, through a protocol of diet evolution in patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer. Method: Retrospective descriptive study, using records of patients who underwent elective surgery, and: diagnosis, height, weight, length of hospitalization, start date of diet, diet consistency, surgical complications and symptoms were evaluated. They were divided into two groups: early onset and late diet protocol without protocol. Results: 124 patients included, 70 women and 54 men. The rate of acceptance of the protocol was 96%.The group that followed the protocol was 100 and 24 patients did not follow it. The group that did not follow the protocol showed a higher frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating (3.22%) and constipation (4.03%), symptoms that were not present in the other group. Surgical complications had a higher incidence in the group that did not follow the protocol, showing a 4.1 times greater chance of developing surgical complications. Patients with the early diet evacuated, on average, on the 5th day after surgery, with an average lower than when that compared to patients who did not follow the protocol, who evacuated on the 9th postoperative day. The length of stay was lower in the group with a protocol, that comprised 3.7 days. Conclusion: Following the diet protocol suggested a decreased rate of surgical complications, gastrointestinal symptoms presented and reduced the time of admission.