Clinical Research Directory

The Impact of AI-Assisted Nursing Care Intervention Within the Enhanced Recovery Framework on Outcomes of Colorectal Surgery Patients

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, affecting a large number of people each year (Bray et al., 2022). Surgical intervention remains the gold standard in treatment. However, advances in surgical techniques and increased effectiveness of neoadjuvant therapies have brought sphincter-preserving surgeries to the forefront, reducing the need for stoma creation compared to the past (Jo \& Wilson, 2025; Wang et al., 2025). Even without stoma creation, these patients face complex care needs in the post-discharge period, including changes in bowel habits, nutritional management, and adaptation to physical activity (Wang et al., 2025). Difficult-to-manage complications carry a high risk of readmission to the hospital. Patients receive limited support during the transition from the hospital to home and at home (Storm et al., 2024). Patients and their families are often left alone to manage home care until routine follow-up appointments. Patients, especially those poorly prepared for discharge, may not know how to perform care practices at home or what to watch out for in case of complications. Situations that are well managed in the hospital can spiral out of control upon inadequate follow-up after the patient returns home, leading to unplanned readmissions. Insufficient postoperative patient follow-up can cause anxiety in patients, leading to readmissions due to the inability to manage the home care process effectively (Storm et al., 2024). Although accelerated recovery after surgery (ERAS) is known to shorten hospital stays (Gustafsson et al., 2025; Gustafsson et al., 2019), studies show varying results regarding readmissions, re-operations, developing complications, and survival (Coleman et al., 2006; Takchi et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2022). These variable results highlight the need for a structured discharge process and home care management for patients who undergo ERAS and are discharged home earlier. In the study by Takchi et al. (2020), a scheduled phone call was proposed as the final step in advanced recovery recommendations and presented as a pilot study. The study reported that each patient contacted reported at least one symptom and personal care need (Takchi et al., 2020). The scheduled phone calls proposed by Takchi et al. (2020) are an important monitoring mechanism in the recovery process; however, they are insufficient. Supporting this monitoring process with a structured discharge management and AI-powered digital video accessible to the patient at any time, extends the continuity of care to a digital dimension. It is reported that AI-powered multimedia tools, whose use is increasing with the transformation in health technologies today, reduce cognitive load by concretizing complex surgical processes with audiovisual materials and improve patients' self-care skills regardless of their health literacy level (Mendoza-Pinto et al., 2025). "Content prepared with generative artificial intelligence algorithms, in particular, increases the retention of information and the patient's digital health literacy compared to traditional educational materials (Zaretsky et al., 2024). This study aims to both structure the discharge and post-discharge follow-up process, which is included in ERAS protocols to a limited extent, and to increase the patient's readiness for discharge, improve patient outcomes, and facilitate home care management using AI-assisted educational videos. Thus, the study significantly points to a fourth step, which is included in ERAS guidelines in the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative phases and is felt to be missing: the discharge and home follow-up process.

CRP Point-of-care Testing Trajectory, a Predictive Factor for Anastomotic Leak in Elective Colorectal Surgery

In colorectal surgery, one of the most feared complications is anastomotic leak (AL). To limit the consequences of AL, it must be diagnosed as early as possible, before it becomes symptomatic. Digestive surgeons use a variety of pre-, per- and post-operative techniques to reduce the rate of anastomotic fistula, but the risk persists, with a rate of 7% reported in the literature. It has been shown that the value of CRP between D1 and D5 correlates with the risk of AL, and that the trajectory between two consecutive days (D1 to D5 post-op) is the most discriminating element in predicting the risk of AF. This assay requires repeated intravenous sampling, which is the opposite of simplifying care. CRP point-of-care testing (POCT) is used in clinical practice, notably in pediatrics and outpatient medicine (in children and adults) to help prescribe probabilistic antibiotic therapy, as the instantaneousness of the result has an impact on patient management. For the diagnosis of AL, CRP POCT assessment could reduce the number of blood samples taken, shorten the time between sampling and medical management in cases of suspected AL, and thus improve the patient's post-operative experience.

Transversus Thoracic Muscle Plane Block Versus Pectointercostal Fascial Block for Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery

This work aims to assess the analgesic efficacies of transversus thoracic muscle plane block (TTPB) and transversus thoracic muscle plane block (TTPB) for open cardiac surgeries

Lidocaine Infusion Versus Magnesium Infusion in Decreasing Fentanyl Requirements in Endoscopic Sinus Surgeries

Enhanced recovery after ear, nose and throat surgery is based on multimodal and multidisciplinary perioperative interventions to decrease postoperative pain. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery is a surgical management for chronic rhinosinusitis. Although a common procedure, there is a lack of knowledge about perioperative pain and specific pain management after such a procedure. Most of recommendations given in guidelines for postoperative pain management in nasal surgery and sinus surgery are subsumed under head and neck surgery. Head and neck surgery is a wide field covering widely variable surgical procedures. So, postoperative pain management guidelines may not meet the requirements for pain management during and after endoscopic sinus surgery. Various medications have been used to improve the surgical field and postoperative pain including intravenous clonidine, dexmedetomidine, lidocaine, and magnesium. Lidocaine has been used considering its analgesic, immuno-modulating, and anti-inflammatory properties. The opioid sparing effect of lidocaine is supported by a high level of evidence. The effectiveness of lidocaine infusion in obtaining reduction of postoperative pain, gastrointestinal recovery time, postoperative nausea and vomiting, and shortening the hospital length of stay, was demonstrated principally in major gastro-intestinal surgery. Magnesium sulfate is a good option in multimodal analgesia, as it stabilizes the cell membrane and intracytoplasmic organelles by mediating the activation of Na+-K+ ATPase and Ca++ ATPase enzymes, which have an important role in transmembrane ion exchange during the depolarization and repolarization phases. Moreover, magnesium inhibits the release of norepinephrine by blocking the N-type Ca++ channels at nerve endings. Many studies were designed to prove the role of the analgesic effect of lidocaine and magnesium infusion. However, this is the first randomized controlled study to assess the effect of lidocaine infusion versus magnesium sulphate infusion on decreasing total fentanyl requirements in patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery. This randomized controlled trial was designed to compare the efficacy of lidocaine hydrochloride infusion versus magnesium sulphate infusion in controlling perioperative pain in patients undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery.