PTRNCase ReportGastroenterology nursing : the official journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates2026

Review of Perioperative Care in Elderly Patients With Esophageal Hiatal Hernia and Cardiopulmonary Disease.

Haibin Zhang, Fangyan Lu, Di Meng

PMID 40910797

WHAT IT FOUND

An 86-year-old man with a large hiatal hernia and heart failure completed laparoscopic repair after multidisciplinary prehabilitation, monitoring, and infection care.

He left hospital 11 days after surgery and had no symptoms at 3 and 6 months.

Key findings

01The 86-year-old man underwent laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair and was discharged 11 days post-surgery.

02The paper reported lung capacity increased from 1800 to 2500 mL and 6MWT distance improved from 150 ± 12.63 to 400 ± 55.89 m after pre-rehabilitation.

03At 3- and 6-month follow-up, the patient had no chest tightness, chest pain, dyspnea, acid reflux, or hiccups and satisfactory quality of life.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs

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What it does not show

This is a single case report, so it cannot show that any treatment works for other patients. The patient received many treatments together, including oxygen, ECG monitoring, total parenteral nutrition, anti-infection treatment, proton pump inhibitor therapy, surgery, analgesics, expectorants, acid suppression, oral care with nystatin, diuretics, anti-inflammatory drugs, precise fluid management, anticoagulation, compression stockings, exercises, foot soaking, and infection care, so the contribution of any component cannot be separated. The paper states that diagnosis and treatment of large hiatal hernia combined with cardiopulmonary disease lack a standardized approach. Follow-up was only at 3 and 6 months. The POSSUM mortality and complication changes are predicted values for one patient, not actual outcomes.

The easy way to misread this

Do not read the 6MWT improvement or discharge outcome as proof that any single prehabilitation or nursing measure worked. The patient also received oxygen, ECG monitoring, total parenteral nutrition, anti-infection treatment, proton pump inhibitor therapy, laparoscopic surgery, analgesics, expectorants, acid suppression, oral care with nystatin, diuretics, anti-inflammatory drugs, precise fluid management, anticoagulation, compression stockings, exercises, foot soaking, and infection care, so the contribution of any component cannot be separated.

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