Safe discharge on the second postoperative day after major colorectal surgery : a decision-making strategy based on quantitative serological data
Kraft, Miquel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Cirurgia)
Doorn, B. van (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Cirurgia)
Maya, Irene (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Cirurgia)
Solís-Peña, Alejandro (Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron)
Pellino, Gianluca (Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron)
Espin-Basany, Eloy (Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron)

Fecha:	2026
Resumen:	Background: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) has enabled early patient discharge, but reliable biomarkers are needed to support safe early discharges. C-reactive protein levels have been reported as good markers for early anastomotic leak detection and also for overall complications, but there is no consensus yet on its quantification nor day of analysis. Objective: This study aimed to determine the C-reactive protein cutoff values at postoperative day (POD) 2-4 associated with the lowest risk of postoperative complications. Design: Single-center, retrospective study. Settings: Tertiary hospital. Patients: Patients operated on between 2019 and 2022. Interventions: Surgery for colorectal cancer. Main outcome measures: C-reactive protein on postoperative days 2-4 and the delta difference between postoperative days 3 and 2 were measured, identifying the best cutoff value for each postoperative complication. Receiver-operating characteristics curves were generated and the area under the curve was analyzed for each postoperative day measurement. Results: A total of 434 patients were included, median age was 72 (62-80) years. On postoperative day-2, the cutoff values for overall morbidity, surgical complications, medical complications, and anastomotic leak were 139. 2 mg/L, 144. 4 mg/L, 140 mg/L, and 170 mg/L, respectively. POD3 and 2 were both safe (area under the curve of 0. 7507 and 0. 7466, respectively). The negative predictive values using a C-reactive protein POD2 cutoff value of 140 mg/L were 80. 6%, 91. 5%, 87. 6%, and 98. 6% for global, medical, surgical complications, and anastomotic leak, respectively. Limitations: Retrospective study. Conclusions: Carefully selected, motivated, and clinically suitable patients could be offered discharge on POD2 if their C-reactive protein levels are below 140 mg/L, with a very high negative predictive value for anastomotic leak and other postoperative complications. This decision should be made in collaboration with patients, considering clinical assessment and logistic factors.
Nota:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Nota:	Open Access Funding provided by Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. This research received no external funding.
Derechos:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Lengua:	Anglès
Documento:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Materia:	CRP ; ERAS ; C-reactive protein ; Second postoperative day ; Anastomotic leak ; Colorectal surgery ; Complications
Publicado en:	Techniques in coloproctology, Vol. 30, Num. 1 (December 2026) , p. 48, ISSN 1128-045X

DOI: 10.1007/s10151-026-03300-0

8 p, 1.1 MB

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