Feasibility of Enhanced Recovery in Emergency Colorectal Operation

Emergency colorectal operations account for considerable surgical morbidity, leading to increased recognition of the importance of standardized care. Enhanced recovery pathways (ERPs) have successfully provided a framework to standardize elective surgical care, with some ERP elements spreading to emergency procedures. This study aims to characterize the degree of spread and demonstrate feasibility of ERP extension to emergency colorectal operations.

Patients undergoing colorectal operations were identified from a national ERP collaborative. Adherence to ERP process measures-multimodal pain control, early Foley removal, postoperative venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, early mobilization, early feeding, and 30-day clinical outcomes-was analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate association between process measure adherence and 30-day clinical outcomes.

A total of 31,511 patients underwent colorectal operations at 235 hospitals; 3,086 were emergencies and 28,425 were elective. For emergency cases, rates of early Foley removal (92.0%) and venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (75.7%) were highest. Rates of multimodal pain control (55.9%), early mobilization (37.1%), and early liquid intake (33.4%) were modest. Nonadherence was more common in patients younger than 65 years (43.4%), with independent functional status (94%), American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification 1 to 3 (62.5%), and without physiologic derangement (39.9%). Lack of mobilization or liquid intake was independently associated with increased odds of ileus (odds ratio [OR] 1.43; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.75 and OR 2.41; 95% CI, 1.96 to 2.95) and prolonged length of stay (OR 2.29; 95% CI, 1.85 to 2.83 and OR 2.05; 95% CI, 1.70 to 2.47).

Although the unplanned nature of emergency colorectal operations historically excluded patients from ERPs, our findings suggest ERPs have observable diffusion beyond elective surgical procedures. Deliberate implementation with adherence auditing can improve ERP uptake and outcomes in emergency colorectal operations.