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.

Abstract

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.

Citation

Bhalla, A., Williams, J. P., Hurst, N., Speake, W., Tierney, G., Tou, S., & Lund, J. N. (2014). One-third of patients fail to return to work 1 year after surgery for colorectal cancer. Techniques in Coloproctology, 18(12), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10151-014-1232-y

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 27, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Nov 8, 2014
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Aug 1, 2017
• Journal: Techniques in Coloproctology
• Print ISSN: 1123-6337
• Electronic ISSN: 1128-045X
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 12
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10151-014-1232-y
• Keywords: Laparoscopic surgery; Return to work; Recovery; Colorectal cancer
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/993425
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10151-014-1232-y
• Additional Information: The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10151-014-1232-y