Effect of WeChat-Based Health Preaching Combined with an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Model on Perioperative Limb Motor Function and Complications in Orthopaedic Patients

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of WeChat-based health preaching combined with an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) model on perioperative limb motor function and complications in orthopaedic patients. METHODS: By means of retrospective analysis, the medical data of 68 orthopaedic patients who received surgical treatment in our hospital (from 01, 2020–12, 2021) were collected, and the patients were equally divided into the study group (SG) and control group (CG) according to their admission order, with 34 cases each. From 7 d before surgery to the time of hospital discharge, WeChat-based health preaching combined with ERAS perioperative nursing was performed to patients in the SG, and routine orthopaedic perioperative nursing was performed to those in the CG. Before and after nursing, patients' Visual Analog Scale for Fatigue (VAS-F) scores, Houston Pain Outcome Instrument (HPOI) scores, and brief Fu-gI-Meyer (FMA) motor scores were investigated and the incidence rates of postoperative complications and nursing satisfaction of patients in the two groups were recorded. RESULTS: After nursing, SG obtained a significantly better VAS-F score and HPOI score (P < 0.001), significantly higher postoperative 7 d and predischarge lower limb FMA scores (20.06 ± 2.13 vs 18.38 ± 2.36, 27.50 ± 1.90 vs 24.09 ± 2.25, P < 0.05), and significantly lower annual incidence rate of complications compared with those of the CG (P < 0.05); and the nursing satisfaction scores of the SG and CG were 9.18 ± 0.82 points and 6.76 ± 0.91 points, respectively, indicating significantly higher nursing satisfaction in the SG than in the CG (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The nursing model of WeChat-based health preaching combined with ERAS can effectively improve the knowledge level of orthopaedic patients, thereby improving their abilities of pain management and self-management, accelerating the recovery of their limb function, and reducing the incidence rate of postoperative complications. The patients are more satisfied with such nursing model, indicating its better promotion value.