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Clinical Trial Details — Status: Terminated

Administrative data

NCT number NCT01241123
Other study ID # CIP# 10-0061
Secondary ID
Status Terminated
Phase N/A
First received
Last updated
Start date March 31, 2010
Est. completion date September 10, 2014

Study information

Verified date May 2024
Source United States Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth
Contact n/a
Is FDA regulated No
Health authority
Study type Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

"Fast-track" or "enhanced recovery" programs, which are the new standardized accelerated clinical pathways for post-operative care for colorectal surgeries, have three goals: to 1) quicken the return of bowel function (as evidenced by passage of flatus and stool), 2) decrease the length of hospital stays, and 3) decrease the rate of overall complications. Aside from several components, or interventions that can vary from institution to institution, these programs share three common modalities: early oral feeding, protocol pain management regimens less dependent on opioid use, and early mobilization (i.e. ambulation). Evidence-based practice has shown that the modalities individually contribute significantly to the program goals except for post-operative ambulation, which has not been shown to increase bowel function although it contributes to decreased pulmonary complications and early discharge of patients. Still, surgeons continue to advocate for early ambulation to aid in the return of bowel function despite the lack of clear evidence supporting this notion. The investigators propose a randomized, prospective clinical trial exploring the impact that post-operative ambulation has on the outcome of colorectal surgeries, particularly on the return of bowel function and the length of hospital stay. With the use of pedometers to measure physical activity, the investigators will subject patients to either the current traditional post-operative care or one with an aggressive ambulation regimen. Through the use of radiopaque markers, the investigators hope to correlate increased ambulation with increased gastrointestinal motility function to prove the impact of early ambulation on post-operative care.


Recruitment information / eligibility

Status Terminated
Enrollment 30
Est. completion date September 10, 2014
Est. primary completion date September 10, 2014
Accepts healthy volunteers No
Gender All
Age group 17 Years and older
Eligibility Inclusion Criteria: - Subject patients are those who will undergo colorectal surgeries at NMCP. Colorectal surgery is defined as any surgery involving the gastrointestinal tract from the ileocecal valve to the dentate line and includes all laparoscopic approaches. This surgery includes, but is not limited to: - Ileocecetomy - Partial colectomy (including right, left, and sigmoid colectomies) - Hartmann procedure - Total abdominal colectomy - Proctocolectomy - Colostomy formation or takedown - Low anterior resection - Abdominoperineal resection Exclusion Criteria: - Reasons for subject exclusion are non-ambulatory conditions are conditions whereby a subject cannot walk or move from place to place. Examples of non-ambulatory conditions include but are not limited to: severe vasculopathy with limiting claudication (leg pain when ambulating due to poor blood flow) of less than 100 meters, all wheelchair bound conditions (anatomically missing both legs without adequate prosthesis, severely limiting pulmonary disease, neurologic disorders - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, severe multiple sclerosis, paraplegia), fractured leg bones requiring temporary and/or permanent use of a walking aid or any congenital disorders limiting ambulation (osteogenesis imperfecta, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy). Any patient who takes Alvimopan (Entereg ®) will be excluded or terminated from the study. Alvimopan is an FDA-approved drug that accelerates bowel motility and is used to prevent and/or treat post-operative ileus. In addition, patients with underlying gastrointestinal motility issues, gastroparesis, chronic constipation, etc or who may have complications who may not be able to ambulate during the hospital course (i.e. prolonged intubated postoperatively) will be excluded as well. Pregnant women will also be excluded from the study.

Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms

  • Return of Bowel Function After Colon Surgery

Intervention

Procedure:
Ambulation regimen
Assistance and encouragement for at least ambulation 3 times a day
Drug:
Sitz-Markers
radiopaque markers to subjectively follow the return of bowel function
Radiation:
Daily abdominal x-rays
daily abdominal x-rays for 7 days - to follow the radiopaque markers
Device:
pedometers
to record the amount of ambulation

Locations

Country Name City State
United States Naval Medical Center Portsmouth Portsmouth Virginia

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor Collaborator
United States Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type Measure Description Time frame Safety issue
Primary Return of bowel function To demonstrate that increased ambulation as an independent post-operative variable leads to a quicker return of bowel function 1 week
Secondary Shorter Length of hospitalization To demonstrate that increased ambulation as an independent post-operative variable leads to a shorter length of hospitalization 1 week
Secondary Post-operative complications To demonstrate that increased ambulation as an independent post-operative variable leads to a decrease in the number of overall complications as recorded over a 30-day period post-operatively 30 days
Secondary Return of normal activities To demonstrate that increased ambulation as an independent post-operative variable leads to a quicker return of normal activities within a 30-day post-operative period. 30 days