Objective:

To assess the effectiveness of multi-channel follow-up as a continuous nursing intervention in monitoring pain relief, adverse effects, and quality of life in patients with digestive tract tumors following their discharge.

Approach:

• Study Design: A prospective controlled study involving 136 patients recruited from the Department of Medical Oncology and Department of Tumor Radiotherapy.
• Groups: Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=68) receiving multi-channel follow-up and a control group (n=68) receiving standard telephone follow-up.
• Intervention: Multi-channel follow-up included nurse-led telephone assessments, WeChat platform-based monitoring, and home visits.
• Outcome Measures: Primary outcomes included pain intensity and patient-reported satisfaction with pain control; secondary outcomes included constipation, other analgesic-related adverse events, and quality of life.

Key Findings:

• The experimental group had statistically significant lower pain scores and higher satisfaction with pain control compared to the control group.
• The incidence of constipation was lower in the experimental group.
• No significant difference was found in other analgesic-related adverse drug reactions.
• Quality of life significantly improved in the experimental group, with more cases of good sleep quality observed.

Interpretation:

The association between pain intensity and sleep disturbance weakened after accounting for group assignment, indicating a need for cautious interpretation of this relationship.

Limitations:

• The study was limited to a specific patient population with digestive tract tumors.
• Further research is needed to generalize findings to other cancer populations.

Conclusion:

Multi-channel follow-up as continuity-of-care nursing improved pain control, reduced constipation, and enhanced sleep quality among post-discharge patients with digestive tract tumors.