Abstract BACKGROUND Surgical intervention for inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) can be an effective treatment option, particularly when medications have not successfully achieved remission or managed complications of the disease. Prehabilitation for IBD surgery provides individualized support to optimize patients’ nutrition, physical fitness, and psychological support in order to optimize surgical outcomes. Existing data on IBD prehabilitation programs have focused on demonstrating improvement in objective surgical outcomes including length of stay, surgical complications, and post-operative opioid use. Little is known about patient experiences around planned IBD surgeries, and how these might impact surgical and health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to understand the perspectives of IBD patients participating in an interdisciplinary prehabilitation program in preparation for IBD surgeries. This quality improvement study will provide preliminary pilot data for a planned larger study. METHODS N=16 participants were referred to the prehabilitation program at an academic medical center. Patients were referred from either their gastroenterologist or colorectal surgeon. Patients participated in an interdisciplinary program with an integrated GI Psychologist and GI Dietitian. Surveys were sent to patients who opted into the program 3-12 months after surgery. Surveys included 18 items that assessed patient experience of: program effectiveness, patient preparation, coping strategies, healthcare team communication, and nutrition education. RESULTS Participants were 56% female, mean age was 39.88. Diagnoses included Crohn’s Disease (75%, n=12) and Ulcerative Colitis (25%, n=4). Procedures included colorectal surgeries targeting IBD. Prior to surgery, participants saw the Psychologist 0-8 times (M=2.46, SD=2.18) and the Dietitian 0-8 times (M=1.69, SD=2.06). Preliminary data indicates overall positive experiences of program components, with high satisfaction for the overall program and structure, and provider communication. Improved pain management was reported as a positive outcome. Areas for improvement include increasing patients’ confidence throughout the perioperative stages. DISCUSSION This study is unique in that it captures subjective experiences of patients undergoing IBD surgeries and participating in an interdisciplinary prehabilitation program. This study will be used as pilot data for future work examining prehabilitation programming, patient quality of life (QOL) and surgical outcomes. We anticipate that this study inform associations between patient’s subjective experiences and objective surgical outcomes and help highlight areas for future interventions.
Battison et al. (Thu,) studied this question.