Recruiting

Food Programming

Sponsor:

Casey Morehouse, DO

Code:

NCT07618559

Conditions

Post Operative Patients

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Food Related Visual Stimuli Exposure

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if exposure to food related visual stimuli during the postoperative period can improve gastrointestinal recovery after abdominal surgery in adult patients.The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Does structured exposure to food related television programming shorten the time to return of bowel function after surgery?
2. Does exposure to food related visual stimuli reduce postoperative ileus and improve recovery related outcomes such as hospital length of stay, appetite, patient satisfaction, and medication use?

Researchers will compare patients receiving structured food related programming during meal periods with patients receiving standard postoperative care to see if food related visual stimulation improves postoperative gastrointestinal recovery.

Participants will:

  • Be randomly assigned to either a food-programming group or a standard care group
  • Watch food-related television programming for at least 15 minutes during scheduled meal-time periods if assigned to the intervention group
  • Have daily collection of routine postoperative information, including bowel function, medication use, and diet progression
  • Complete brief optional questions regarding appetite and satisfaction during hospitalization

Conditions

Post Operative Patients

Study ID

NCT07618559

Start date

Jul 1, 2026

Status verified date

Oct, 2026

Completion date

Sep 1, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul 1, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult patients aged ≥18 years
  • Undergoing abdominal surgery (including general, colorectal, trauma, or surgical oncology procedures) requiring inpatient post operative admission
  • Able to participate in the intervention, including engaging with television based stimuli
  • Able to follow simple instructions in the postoperative period

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Critical illness requiring ICU-level care beyond the immediate postoperative period
  • Mechanical ventilation (intubated patients)
  • Requirement for high-level non-invasive ventilation (BiPAP for respiratory failure)
  • Hemodynamic instability requiring vasopressor support
  • Life support measures, including continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) or ECMO
  • Altered mental status impairing participation (delirium requiring restraints)
  • Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) < 13 or inability to follow commands

Study Design

Enrollment

150 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Food Related TV

Participants randomized to the intervention arm will receive standard postoperative care in addition to a structured behavioral intervention consisting of exposure to food-related visual stimuli during defined peri-meal periods throughout their postoperative hospitalization. Participants will be asked to watch food related television programming (e.g., cooking, baking, or food-centered shows) for a minimum of 15 minutes during each designated meal window: breakfast (7:00-9:00 AM), lunch (12:00-2:00 PM), and dinner (5:00-7:00 PM).

Programming will be delivered using existing in-room hospital television resources and will not alter routine clinical care or dietary management. Compliance with the intervention will be monitored through participant self-report and periodic study team check-ins. Participants will continue all standard postoperative management according to routine clinical practice

no intervention: Non-modified postoperative recovery

Participants randomized to the no-intervention (control) arm will receive standard postoperative care according to routine clinical practice without structured exposure to food-related visual stimuli. Participants may watch television at their discretion during hospitalization; however, they will not receive prompts, assigned programming, or scheduled meal-time viewing instructions. No restrictions will be placed on normal television use or activities during recovery. All other perioperative and postoperative care will remain unchanged and will be managed according to standard clinical protocols

Interventions

Food Related Visual Stimuli Exposure

This intervention consists of a structured, non-pharmacologic behavioral exposure to food related visual stimuli delivered during predefined peri-meal periods throughout the postoperative hospitalization. Participants will view food centered television programming (e.g., cooking, baking, or food preparation shows) for a minimum of 15 minutes during each designated meal window: breakfast (7:00-9:00 AM), lunch (12:00-2:00 PM), and dinner (5:00-7:00 PM).

Unlike standard television viewing or unrestricted media use, the intervention uses scheduled exposure to food-specific visual content intended to provide cephalic phase sensory stimulation during times corresponding with routine eating periods. The intervention is delivered using existing hospital television resources and does not involve medications, dietary modification, invasive procedures, or additional medical devices. Adherence will be assessed through participant self-report and periodic study team monitoring.

Primary outcome measure

  • Incidence of postoperative ileus [ Time Frame: Until hospital discharge, can vary from 2-10 days ]
  • Return of bowel function [ Time Frame: from enrollment to the end of admission, can vary from 2-10 days ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Casey M Morehouse, DO

8034130578cmmorehouse@gmail.com

Locations

Prisma Health Midlands

Recruiting

Columbia, South Carolina, United States, 29203

Contacts

Casey Morehouse, DO

8034130578cmmorehouse@gmail.com

More Information

Sponsor

Casey Morehouse, DO

Last update posted

Oct 21, 2026

Last verified

Oct, 2026

Keywords

  • recovery after abdominal surgery
  • ileus
  • return of bowel function
  • eras protocol

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-22. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Casey Morehouse, DO on 2026-10-21. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.