[Enhanced recovery after surgery-Does the ERAS concept keep its promises]

Area of Science:

• Surgical Outcomes
• Perioperative Care
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols aim to improve surgical recovery.
• ERAS is compared against traditional perioperative treatments.
• The goal is to reduce complications and hospital stay.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the evidence comparing ERAS with traditional perioperative treatment.
• To evaluate the impact of ERAS on postoperative complications and recovery.
• To assess the effect of ERAS on hospital length of stay.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs.
• Searched the PubMed database for relevant studies.
• Included studies on abdominal, thoracic, vascular, and orthopedic surgery.

Main Results:

• ERAS reduced complication rates in colorectal, esophageal, liver, and pulmonary resections, and hip/knee endoprostheses implantation.
• Pulmonary complications decreased with ERAS after esophageal, gastric, and pulmonary resections.
• ERAS shortened hospital stays across all surgery types without increasing readmissions.

Conclusions:

• ERAS protocols are effective in reducing postoperative morbidity and accelerating recovery.
• Hospital stays are significantly shortened with ERAS implementation.
• ERAS does not lead to an increase in readmission rates.