INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE
Original Article
Sep 05, 2026 46 38

A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study

Jamshid Shamsiev 1 * ,
Sukhrob Zainiev 1,
Jasur Rizayev 1
1 Specialized Pediatric Surgical Clinic, Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 1(3), 2026, jebm012, https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222
Publication date: Sep 05, 2026
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ABSTRACT

Congenital malformations of the gastrointestinal tract are a leading cause of neonatal surgical mortality and long-term disability, and outcomes remain markedly worse in low- and middle-income settings than in high-income countries, in part because of fragmented postoperative follow-up. We conducted a combined retrospective-prospective cohort study in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan (2021–2024) to characterize the epidemiology and risk-factor profile of congenital gastrointestinal malformations and to evaluate a purpose-built, multistage, multidisciplinary rehabilitation program for infants after corrective surgery. Of 283 surgically treated neonates, 163 received the structured rehabilitation program (surgical, nutritional, physiotherapeutic, psychosocial and telemedicine components) and 120 received standard postoperative care. The rehabilitation program was associated with a shorter hospital stay (20.8 ± 3.2 vs 28.1 ± 3.5 days, p<0.001), a lower rate of postoperative complications (9.8% vs 25.7%, p<0.01), fewer unplanned readmissions at 6 months (11.0% vs 31.5%, p<0.01), and greater weight gain and serum protein/albumin recovery at 6 months (all p<0.01). Composite gastrointestinal functional recovery at 6 months was achieved in 90.2% of the program group versus 64.1% of the comparison group (p<0.001). Parental anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) fell further in the program group (48.2±6.1 to 34.5±4.8) than in controls (47.8±6.3 to 42.9±5.2, p<0.001), and confidence in caregiving (visual analogue scale) improved correspondingly. A multivariable model incorporating birth weight, number of malformations and timing of nutritional rehabilitation predicted adverse outcome with 87.4% accuracy. These findings support multistage, family-centered, telemedicine-enabled rehabilitation as an effective and scalable strategy for improving postoperative outcomes after neonatal gastrointestinal surgery, particularly in resource-constrained regional health systems.

KEYWORDS

Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations Neonatal Surgery Postoperative Rehabilitation Multidisciplinary Care Gastroschisis Hirschsprung Disease Anorectal Malformation Telemedicine

CITATION (Vancouver)

Shamsiev J, Zainiev S, Rizayev J. A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study. International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. 2026;1(3):jebm012. https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222
APA
Shamsiev, J., Zainiev, S., & Rizayev, J. (2026). A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study. International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 1(3), jebm012. https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222
Harvard
Shamsiev, J., Zainiev, S., and Rizayev, J. (2026). A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study. International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 1(3), jebm012. https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222
AMA
Shamsiev J, Zainiev S, Rizayev J. A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study. International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. 2026;1(3), jebm012. https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222
Chicago
Shamsiev, Jamshid, Sukhrob Zainiev, and Jasur Rizayev. "A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study". International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine 2026 1 no. 3 (2026): jebm012. https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222
MLA
Shamsiev, Jamshid et al. "A Multistage Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program Improves Postoperative Recovery, Nutritional Status, and Parental Psychosocial Outcomes in Neonates with Congenital Gastrointestinal Malformations: A Prospective Comparative Cohort Study". International Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, vol. 1, no. 3, 2026, jebm012. https://doi.org/10.63946/jebm/19222

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