Fast-track surgery protocol in elderly patients undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a randomized controlled trial

AIM: To study the efficacy of the fast-track surgery (FTS) program combined with laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for elderly gastric cancer (GC) patients. METHODS: Eighty-four elderly patients diagnosed with GC between September 2014 and August 2015 were recruited to participate in this study and were divided into four groups randomly based on the random number table as follows: FTS + laparoscopic group (Group A, n=21), FTS + laparotomy group (Group B, n=21), conventional perioperative care (CC) + laparoscopic group (Group C, n=21), and CC + laparotomy group (Group D, n=21). Observation indicators include intrasurgery indicators, postoperative recovery indicators, nutritional status indicators, and systemic stress response indicators. RESULTS: Preoperative and intraoperative baseline characteristics showed no significant differences between patients in each group (P>0.05). There were no significant differences between each group in nausea and vomiting, intestinal obstruction, urinary retention, incision infection, pulmonary infection, and urinary tract infection after operation (P>0.05). Time of first flatus and postoperative hospital stay time of FTS Group A were the shortest, and total medical cost of this group was the lowest. For all groups, serum albumin, prealbumin, and transferrin significantly decreased, while CRP and interleukin 6 were significantly increased postoperative day 1. From postoperative day 4–7, all indicators of the four groups gradually recovered, but compared with other three groups, those of Group A recovered fastest. CONCLUSION: FTS combined with laparoscopic surgery can promote faster postoperative recovery, improve early postoperative nutritional status, and more effectively reduce postoperative stress reaction, and hence is safe and effective for elderly GC patients.