Postoperative narcotic use in patients with ovarian cancer on an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway

To determine the impact of an ERAS pathway on post-discharge narcotic use for patients with ovarian cancer undergoing open surgery.

This was a retrospective cohort study of women who underwent open ovarian cancer surgeries in 2014 prior to ERAS ("pre-ERAS") and in 2016/2018 after ERAS was instituted ("ERAS"). Patients taking chronic narcotics were excluded. A statewide prescription monitoring program was used to identify narcotic prescriptions filled in the three months after surgery. Quantity of narcotic medication is referenced in morphine milligram equivalents (MME).

42 pre-ERAS and 94 ERAS patients were included. The groups were similar in age, BMI, diabetes, tobacco use, mean number of prior abdominal/pelvic surgeries, and advanced stage disease. ERAS patients had a shorter hospital stay (6.7 days pre-ERAS vs 4.2 days ERAS, p = 0.003), used less narcotic in the 24 h prior to discharge (74.0 MME pre-ERAS vs 25.8 MME ERAS, p = 0.002), and filled prescriptions at time of discharge for less narcotic (519.9 MME pre-ERAS vs 339.7 MME ERAS, p = 0.011). After hospital discharge, ERAS patients filled fewer additional prescriptions (52.4% pre-ERAS, vs 29.4% ERAS, p = 0.012). In total, ERAS patients filled prescriptions for 55% fewer narcotics in the three months after surgery than the pre-ERAS group (1101.4 MME pre-ERAS vs 492.1 MME ERAS, p < 0.001).

Institution of an ERAS protocol appears to decrease the narcotic needs of patients in the three months after ovarian cancer surgery.