ERAS: An Audit of Existing Practices

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Innovation
• Patient Recovery

Background:

• Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) guidelines improve perioperative recovery across surgical disciplines.
• Implementation of ERAS protocols in gynaecologic oncology in India is not widely established.
• A pilot study was conducted to assess ERAS compliance in a tertiary care setting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgical team compliance with ERAS guidelines in gynaecologic oncology.
• To identify areas of high and low adherence to ERAS components.
• To provide a basis for structured ERAS program implementation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective audit of 50 elective gynaecologic oncology surgeries.
• Analysis of adherence to 18 ERAS components (preoperative, intraoperative, postoperative).
• Exclusion of emergency and palliative surgeries.

Main Results:

• High compliance (94%) with preoperative counseling.
• Strong intraoperative management adherence (86%).
• Areas for improvement include preoperative fasting duration, prehabilitation, and early postoperative feeding.

Conclusions:

• A coordinated team effort is crucial for enforcing ERAS protocols.
• Periodic auditing is essential to maintain compliance and ensure patient benefits.
• The study highlights specific areas for targeted intervention to optimize ERAS implementation.