Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) attempts to decrease the surgical stress response to minimize postoperative complications and improve functional rehabilitation after major surgery, but it have not been widely utilized in spinal surgery. This study is to evaluate the implementation of an ERAS pathway for patients undergoing oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) surgery.Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patient who underwent OLIF in 2018 prior to ERAS (“pre-ERAS” ,n=23) and in 2019 after ERAS was instituted (“ERAS”, n=24). Major outcomes were collected included demographics, length of hospital stay, financial cost, postoperative complications, off-bed time and perioperative factors. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the pain. The ERAS pathway and compliance with pathway elements were also recorded.Results After ERAS implementation, we found no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. In our study, the mean stay in the hospital was significantly lower (p= 0.033) in the ERAS group (15.3±3.9 days) compared to the standard pathway group (13.0±3.1 days). In comparison to the standard group, we also found a variation between the financial costs of surgery and hospitalization [(116312.1±30787.4)vs(100691.2±19695.1) yuan, P < 0.05]. The ERAS group manifested a lower blood loss compared with the pre-ERAS group with statistical significance [(68.3±57.1)vs(119.3±104.8) ml, P < 0.05]. There was no significant difference in operative time, complications, and 30-d readmission rates ( P > 0.05 ). Pain scores between the two groups showed a significant difference during the 3th hour and 6th hour (P < 0.05).Conclusion Institution of an ERAS protocol appears to accelerate functional recovery and reduce length of stay, financial costs and decreased pain.

Abstract Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) attempts to decrease the surgical stress response to minimize postoperative complications and improve functional rehabilitation after major surgery, but it have not been widely utilized in spinal surgery. This study is to evaluate the implementation of an ERAS pathway for patients undergoing oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) surgery.Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patient who underwent OLIF in 2018 prior to ERAS (“pre-ERAS” ,n=23) and in 2019 after ERAS was instituted (“ERAS”, n=24). Major outcomes were collected included demographics, length of hospital stay, financial cost, postoperative complications, off-bed time and perioperative factors. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the pain. The ERAS pathway and compliance with pathway elements were also recorded.Results After ERAS implementation, we found no significant differences in the baseline characteristics between the two groups. In our study, the mean stay in the hospital was significantly lower (p= 0.033) in the ERAS group (15.3±3.9 days) compared to the standard pathway group (13.0±3.1 days). In comparison to the standard group, we also found a variation between the financial costs of surgery and hospitalization [(16446.5±4353.3)vs(14237.7±2784.9) USD, P < 0.05]. The ERAS group manifested a lower blood loss compared with the pre-ERAS group with statistical significance [(68.3±57.1)vs(119.3±104.8) ml, P < 0.05]. There was no significant difference in operative time, complications, and 30-d readmission rates ( P > 0.05 ). Pain scores between the two groups showed a significant difference during the 3th hour and 6th hour (P < 0.05).Conclusion Institution of an ERAS protocol appears to accelerate functional recovery and reduce length of stay, financial costs and decreased pain.