Factors Affecting the Length of Hospital Days After Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Elderly Patients with Gastric Cancer.

Purpose: To clarify the factors affecting the length of hospitalization after laparoscopic gastrectomy based on the physical function, body composition, and postoperative course of the patients.

Methods: Of the patients with gastric cancer who underwent laparoscopic resection at the Ageo Central General Hospital, Japan, during 2018-2019, 51 underwent physical therapy. Data regarding the objective variables, such as length of postoperative hospital stay, and baseline attributes, such as age, body weight, body mass index (BMI), and corrected limb muscle mass, postoperative course (operation time, the estimated blood loss, the day before walking independently), preoperative physical function (grip strength, 6-min walking distance), and preoperative respiratory function (vital capacity [VC]%, one-second rate) were collected retrospectively from the medical records and analyzed using multiple regression plots.

Results: The most suitable hospital day model after surgery is one that incorporates the total postoperative course, respiratory function, physical function (R = 0.45, p < 0001), and operation time (β = 0.12, p < 0.06). The information of the day before independent walking (β = 0.68, p < 0.001) and % VC (β = -0.19, p < 0.04) was extracted as factors.

Conclusion: We concluded that the operation time, walking independence days, and % VC influence the postoperative length of hospital days.