LONGER DAILY DURATION OF SUPERVISED REHABILITATION AFTER LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY FOR COLORECTAL CANCER IMPROVES ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a supervised rehabilitation programme with longer hours per day on activities of daily living after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer. DESIGN: This study represents retrospective observational use of nationwide administrative data. PATIENTS: Eligible patients (n = 8,633) were first diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018, underwent laparoscopic-assisted colorectal resection, and began rehabilitation within 3 days of surgery. METHODS: Patients underwent a long (40 min or more) or short (less than 40 min) supervised rehabilitation programme, defined as rehabilitation under physiotherapist and occupational therapist supervision. The main outcome measure was improvement in activities of daily living from postoperative day 0 to day 14 using Nursing Need Degree. RESULTS: Patients who underwent longer daily supervised rehabilitation (n = 7,173) showed greater improvements in activities of daily living at 14 days after laparoscopic surgery than patients who underwent shorter daily supervised rehabilitation (n = 1,460) (odds ratio (95% confidence interval; 95% confidence interval): 1.42 (1.22–1.64), p < 0.001). The rate of postoperative complications did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: Longer daily supervised rehabilitation for colorectal cancer improves activities of daily living after laparoscopic surgery.