One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer
Background Achieving full recovery after colorectal cancer surgery means a return to normal physical and psychological health and to a normal social life. Recovery data focusses on time to discharge rather than longer term functionality including return to work (RTW). We aim to assess return to n...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer Verlag
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44550/ |
| _version_ | 1848796942181597184 |
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| author | Bhalla, Ashish Williams, John P. Hurst, N.G. Speake, W.J. Tierney, G.M. Tou, S. Lund, Jonathan N. |
| author_facet | Bhalla, Ashish Williams, John P. Hurst, N.G. Speake, W.J. Tierney, G.M. Tou, S. Lund, Jonathan N. |
| author_sort | Bhalla, Ashish |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background
Achieving full recovery after colorectal cancer surgery means a return to normal physical and psychological health and to a normal social life. Recovery data focusses on time to discharge rather than longer term functionality including return to work (RTW). We aim to assess return to normal holistic function at 1 year after colorectal cancer surgery.
Method
Questionnaires were created and dispatched to 204 patients who had undergone surgery with curative intent for colorectal cancer, in 2011–2012, in a single teaching hospital.
Results
Response rate was 75 % (153/204), 82 % (129/157) for open surgery (OS) and 51 % (24/47) for laparoscopic surgery (LS). Median age was 68 (48–91) years for OS and 65 (36–84) for LS. Eighty-four per cent of patients felt ‘ready’ and 95 % had adequate pain control upon discharge (no difference between groups). LS reported earlier ‘return to full fitness’ (1–3 months) than OS (>6 months; Mann–Whitney U, p < 0.05). Recovery from LS was ‘better than expected’ compared to OS ‘worse than expected’ (Mann–Whitney U test, p < 0.05). Forty-nine patients were employed preoperatively and 61 % (n = 30) returned to work. RTW was more frequent after LS (Chi-square test, p < 0.05). Length of time to RTW was significantly less after LS [44 (6–84) days] than OS [71 (14–252) days] (t test, p < 0.05). Levels of self-employment were equal between groups.
Conclusions
One-third of patients failed to RTW at 1 year post-surgery. Patients having LS returned to full fitness faster, felt recovery was shorter and returned to work earlier than OS. We must invest more in managing expectations and provide better post-discharge support to improve RTW. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:55:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-44550 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:55:59Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Springer Verlag |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-445502020-05-04T20:12:17Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44550/ One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer Bhalla, Ashish Williams, John P. Hurst, N.G. Speake, W.J. Tierney, G.M. Tou, S. Lund, Jonathan N. Background Achieving full recovery after colorectal cancer surgery means a return to normal physical and psychological health and to a normal social life. Recovery data focusses on time to discharge rather than longer term functionality including return to work (RTW). We aim to assess return to normal holistic function at 1 year after colorectal cancer surgery. Method Questionnaires were created and dispatched to 204 patients who had undergone surgery with curative intent for colorectal cancer, in 2011–2012, in a single teaching hospital. Results Response rate was 75 % (153/204), 82 % (129/157) for open surgery (OS) and 51 % (24/47) for laparoscopic surgery (LS). Median age was 68 (48–91) years for OS and 65 (36–84) for LS. Eighty-four per cent of patients felt ‘ready’ and 95 % had adequate pain control upon discharge (no difference between groups). LS reported earlier ‘return to full fitness’ (1–3 months) than OS (>6 months; Mann–Whitney U, p < 0.05). Recovery from LS was ‘better than expected’ compared to OS ‘worse than expected’ (Mann–Whitney U test, p < 0.05). Forty-nine patients were employed preoperatively and 61 % (n = 30) returned to work. RTW was more frequent after LS (Chi-square test, p < 0.05). Length of time to RTW was significantly less after LS [44 (6–84) days] than OS [71 (14–252) days] (t test, p < 0.05). Levels of self-employment were equal between groups. Conclusions One-third of patients failed to RTW at 1 year post-surgery. Patients having LS returned to full fitness faster, felt recovery was shorter and returned to work earlier than OS. We must invest more in managing expectations and provide better post-discharge support to improve RTW. Springer Verlag 2014-12 Article PeerReviewed Bhalla, Ashish, Williams, John P., Hurst, N.G., Speake, W.J., Tierney, G.M., Tou, S. and Lund, Jonathan N. (2014) One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer. Techniques in Coloproctology, 18 (12). pp. 1153-1159. ISSN 1128-045X Laparoscopic surgery; Return to work; Recovery; Colorectal cancer https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10151-014-1232-y doi:10.1007/s10151-014-1232-y doi:10.1007/s10151-014-1232-y |
| spellingShingle | Laparoscopic surgery; Return to work; Recovery; Colorectal cancer Bhalla, Ashish Williams, John P. Hurst, N.G. Speake, W.J. Tierney, G.M. Tou, S. Lund, Jonathan N. One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| title | One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| title_full | One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| title_fullStr | One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| title_short | One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| title_sort | one-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer |
| topic | Laparoscopic surgery; Return to work; Recovery; Colorectal cancer |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44550/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44550/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44550/ |