BACKGROUND

Patients undergoing laparoscopic resection of liver metastases of colorectal cancer are prone to negative emotions and decrease of digestive function. Early nursing and psychological intervention are necessary.

AIM

To observe the effect of enhanced recovery nursing combined with mental health education on postoperative recovery and mental health of patients undergoing laparoscopic resection of liver metastases of colorectal cancer.

METHODS

One hundred and twenty patients who underwent laparoscopic resection of liver metastases of colorectal cancer at our hospital between March 2021 and March 2023, were selected as participants. The patients admitted from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022 were set as the control group, and they were given routine nursing combined with mental health education intervention. While the patients admitted from March 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 were set as the observation group, they were given accelerated rehabilitation surgical nursing combined with mental health education intervention. The differences in postoperative recovery-related indices, complications and pain degrees, and mental health-related scores were compared between groups. The T lymphocyte subset levels of the two groups were also compared.

RESULTS

The postoperative exhaust, defecation, eating and drainage time of the observation group were shorter than those of the control group. The pain scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery. The cumulative complication rate of the observation group was lower than that of the control group ( < 0.05). The CD4+/CD8+ in the observation group was higher than that in the control group 3 d after surgery ( < 0.05). After intervention, the self-rating depression scale, self-rating anxiety scale, avoidance dimension, and yielding dimension in Medical coping style (MCMQ) scores of the two groups were lower than those prior to intervention, and the scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group ( < 0.05). The face dimension score in the MCMQ score was higher than that before intervention, and that of the observation group was higher than that of the control group ( < 0.05). After intervention, the total scores of the life function index scale (FLIC) and psychological well-being scores of cancer patients in the two groups, and the physical and social well-being scores in the observation group, were higher than those before intervention. The nursing satisfaction of the observation group was higher than that of the control group ( < 0.05). The physical, psychological, and social well-being, and the total FLIC scores of the observation group were higher than those in the control group after surgery ( < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Enhanced recovery nursing combined with mental health education can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function, improve the mental health and quality of life of patients after laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases, and reduce the incidence of complications.