Coordinated Pre‑Surgery Care Cuts Complications and Boosts Recovery, New Studies Show

Key takeaways

• Multimodal prehabilitation that blends exercise, nutrition and mental‑health support appears feasible and well‑received, though high‑quality trials are still needed to nail down its exact benefits [1].
• Giving intravenous iron to anaemic patients before elective cardiac surgery reduces the need for red‑cell transfusions and modestly increases the number of days patients spend alive and at home during the first three months after surgery [3].

Prehabilitation: More Than Just Exercise

Prehabilitation—defined as the optimisation of physical, nutritional and psychological health before surgery—has gained traction in oncologic procedures such as radical prostatectomy [1]. A scoping review of the field found that programs vary widely in content, delivery format and the outcomes they measure, ranging from urinary continence and sexual function to health‑related quality of life and nutritional status [1]. Despite this heterogeneity, the review highlighted two consistent themes: patients generally find prehabilitation acceptable, and the programs are logistically feasible across diverse settings [1]. The authors note that methodological differences and inconsistent outcome reporting limit definitive conclusions, calling for high‑quality randomised trials and a consensus on core outcomes [1].

Multidisciplinary Cancer Pain Management Gains Ground

A prospective observational study is currently tracking patients before and after assessment by a multidisciplinary cancer‑pain committee, which brings together oncologists, pain specialists, pharmacists and supportive‑care providers [2].

Intravenous Iron Cuts Transfusion Needs in Cardiac Surgery

An international, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled trial of 955 adults undergoing elective cardiac surgery examined whether a single dose of intravenous iron given before the operation could reduce peri‑operative red‑cell transfusion [3]. The study reported a statistically significant drop in transfusion rates—from 68.2% in the placebo group to 61.1% in the iron group—corresponding to a relative risk reduction of about 10% [3]. Moreover, patients who received iron spent slightly more days alive and at home during the first 90 days after surgery, suggesting a modest but meaningful improvement in early recovery [3]. The trial did not find differences in major complications or overall length of stay, indicating that while iron may lessen the need for blood products, it does not appear to affect the broader spectrum of surgical risk in this population [3]. These findings reinforce intravenous iron as a valuable element of patient‑blood‑management strategies for anaemic surgical candidates [3].