Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is an evidence-based paradigm shift in perioperative care, proven to lower both recovery time and postoperative complication rates. The role of ERAS in several surgical disciplines was reviewed. In colorectal surgery, ERAS protocol is currently well established as the best care. In gastric surgery, 2014 saw an establishment of ERAS protocol for gastrectomies with resulting meta-analysis showing ERAS effectiveness. ERAS has also been shown to be beneficial in liver surgery with many centers starting implementation. The advantages of ERAS in pancreatic surgery have been strongly established, but there is still a need for large-scale, multicenter randomized trials. Barriers to implementation were analyzed, with recent studies concluding that successful implementation requires a multidisciplinary team, a willingness to change and a clear understanding of the protocol. Additionally, the difficulty in accomplishing necessary compliance to all protocol items calls for new implementation strategies. ERAS success in different patient populations was analyzed, and it was found that in the elderly population, ERAS shortened the length of hospitalization and did not lead to a higher risk of postoperative complications or readmissions. ERAS utilization in the emergency setting is possible and effective; however, certain changes to the protocol may need to be adapted. Therefore, further research is needed. There remains insufficient evidence on whether ERAS actually improves patients’ course in the long term. However, since most centers started to implement ERAS protocol less than 5 years ago, more data are expected.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol is well established in many surgical disciplines and leads to a decrease in the length of hospital stay and morbidity. Multimodal protocols have also been introduced to bariatric surgery. This review aims to evaluate the current literature on ERAS in obesity surgery and to conduct a meta-analysis of primary and secondary outcomes. MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane Library were searched for eligible studies. Key journals were hand-searched. We analysed data up to May 2016. Eligible studies had to contain four described ERAS protocol elements. The primary outcome was the length of hospital stay; the secondary outcomes included overall morbidity, specific complications, mortality, readmissions and costs. Random effect meta-analyses were undertaken. The initial search yielded 1151 articles. Thorough evaluation resulted in 11 papers, which were analysed. The meta-analysis of the length of stay presented a significant reduction standard mean difference (Std. MD) = −2.39 (−3.89, −0.89), p = 0.002. The analysis of overall morbidity, specific complications and Clavien-Dindo classification showed no significant variations among the study groups. ERAS protocol in bariatric surgery leads to the reduction of the length of hospital stay while maintaining no or low influence on morbidity.

Clinical Diabetology (ISSN 2450-7458) is published six times a year by "Via Medica sp. z o.o." sp.k.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol in colorectal surgery allows shortening length of hospital stay and reducing complication rate. Despite the clear guidelines and conclusive evidence their full implementation and putting them into daily practice meets certain difficulties, especially in the early stage. The aim of the study was to analyse the course of implementation of the ERAS protocol into daily practice on the basis of adherence to the protocol. Group included 92 patients (43F/49M) with colorectal cancer submitted to laparoscopic resection during the years 2013-2014. Perioperative care in all of them based on ERAS protocol consisting of 16 items. Its principles and discharge criteria were based on the guidelines of the ERAS Society guidelines. The entire analysed group of patients was divided into 3 subgroups (30 patients) depending on the time from ERAS protocol implementation. We analysed the compliance with the protocol and its influence on length of hospital stay, postoperative complications and readmission rate in different subgroups. The average compliance with the protocol differed significantly between groups and was 65% in group 1, 83.9% in group 2 and 89.6% in group 3. The compliance with subsequent protocol elements was different. The length of stay and complication rate was statistically different in analysed subgroups. The whole group demonstrated an inverse correlation between compliance and length of stay. This analysis leads to the conclusion that the introduction of the ERAS protocol is a gradual process, and its compliance at the level of 80% or more requires at least 30 patients and the period of about 6 months. The initial derogation from the assumed proceedings is inevitable and should not discourage further action. Particular emphasis in the initial stage should be put on continuous training of personnel of all specialties and continuous evaluation of the results.

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