Modern perioperative medicine - past, present, and future

Area of Science:

• Perioperative Medicine
• Surgical Outcomes Research

Background:

• Modern perioperative medicine aims to mitigate surgical stress and physiological insult.
• Enhanced recovery programs (ERAS) and minimally invasive surgery reduce hospital stay, morbidity, and costs.
• The ERAS Society promotes best practices and evidence-based guidelines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address challenges in ERAS compliance, effectiveness, and sustainability.
• To explore personalized care programs and geriatric assessments for frail patients.
• To investigate the potential of continuous data collection and machine learning for optimizing patient management.

Main Methods:

• Review of current enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) practices and challenges.
• Discussion of the need for personalized care and geriatric assessments.
• Exploration of data collection and machine learning for optimizing patient pathways.

Main Results:

• ERAS programs have improved outcomes but face compliance and sustainability challenges.
• There is a growing need for personalized care, especially for frail geriatric patients.
• Continuous data collection and machine learning offer potential for bespoke care pathways.

Conclusions:

• Further research is needed on long-term ERAS data, functional recovery, and quality of life.
• Personalized care and data-driven approaches are crucial for optimizing surgical patient management.
• Sustaining and improving ERAS programs requires addressing compliance and individual patient needs.