A retrospective study on the rehabilitation effects of IMB nursing intervention for lung cancer patients after cryoablation

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether an Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB)-based perioperative nursing program was associated with better self-efficacy, quality of life, complication profiles, and nursing satisfaction in patients with lung cancer undergoing cryoablation. METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study included 552 patients treated between July 2023 and March 2025. Patients received either IMB-based perioperative nursing (n = 268) or routine care (n = 284) according to routine clinical allocation rather than randomization. SUPPH and FACT-L scores were assessed at baseline and 3 months. Longitudinal changes were examined with repeated-measures models, and follow-up differences were further assessed with baseline-adjusted ANCOVA. Complications were compared with χ² or Fisher's exact tests and summarized with risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Adjusted logistic models were used for any complication, pneumothorax, and pain. Nursing satisfaction was compared with mean difference, 95% CI, and Cohen's d. RESULTS: Baseline scores were similar between groups. At 3 months, the intervention group had higher SUPPH scores than the control group (104.66 ± 6.09 vs. 86.43 ± 4.35); the group-by-time interaction was 18.09 (16.96 to 19.22) (P < 0.001) and the baseline-adjusted mean difference was 18.23 (17.35 to 19.11) (P < 0.001). FACT-L scores also favored the intervention group (101.90 ± 12.72 vs. 94.57 ± 9.98), with a group-by-time interaction of 6.97 (4.93 to 9.01) (P < 0.001) and a baseline-adjusted mean difference of 7.34 (5.43 to 9.25) (P < 0.001). The overall complication rate was lower but not statistically significant (24 (9.0) vs. 37 (13.0); RR 0.69 (0.42 to 1.12); P 0.127). Pneumothorax (0.43 (0.22 to 0.85); P 0.012) and pain (0.51 (0.29 to 0.91); P 0.020) were significantly less frequent in the intervention group. Nursing satisfaction was higher in the intervention group (89.90 ± 1.84 vs. 78.06 ± 4.03; mean difference 11.83 (11.31 to 12.35); P < 0.001; Cohen's d = 3.74). CONCLUSION: In this retrospective real-world study, IMB-based nursing was associated with better patient-reported outcomes and lower risks of pneumothorax and pain after cryoablation. Because the study was non-randomized and unblinded, these findings should be interpreted as associative rather than causal and require prospective confirmation.