(HealthDay News) — For men with testicular cancer undergoing retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND), alvimopan may reduce hospital length of stay (LOS) and enhance gastrointestinal recovery, according to a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida.
Kushan Dilip Radadia, MD, from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, and colleagues examined whether alvimopan is associated with enhanced gastrointestinal recovery and shorter LOS in 29 men undergoing RPLND by a single surgeon for testicular cancer. Eight of the participants received alvimopan and 21 did not.
The researchers observed no between-group differences in preoperative or operative variables. Patients receiving alvimopan had a mean hospital length of stay of 4 days compared with 6 days among men not receiving alvimopan (P =.074). The median time to return of flatus was 2 and 4 days for men receiving vs those not receiving alvimopan, respectively (P =.0023). The median time to first bowel movement was 2.5 vs 4 days for those receiving vs not receiving alvimopan (P =.0028).
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“Strategies that enhance post-surgery recovery, such as the adoption of alvimopan in recovery pathways, may minimize gastrointestinal side effects and shorten the length of hospital stay for these men,” a coauthor said in a statement.
Reference
- Radadia KD, Farber N, Tabakin A, et al. Effect of alvimopan on gastrointestinal recovery and length of hospitalization after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection for testicular cancer. Data presented in poster format at the 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Poster Session C, Board C21. Abstract 424.
