Many researchers implemented enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and found it effective over conventional care. This review investigates the efficacy and safety of ERAS pathways implemented for LC over conventional practices. We searched PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, CENTRAL, Ovid, and clinicaltrials.gov using relevant keywords to identify studies in which ERAS pathways in LC were compared with conventional pathways. The primary outcome was length of stay (LOS) from the day of surgery and the secondary outcomes were comparison of pain scores, postoperative nausea/vomiting (PONV), readmissions (within 30-days after surgery), complications (medical and surgical), time to first flatus, and cost. Out of 590 articles identified, 6 studies (n=1489 patients) fulfilled inclusion criteria and were used for qualitative and quantitative analysis. On pooled analysis, the LOS, time to first flatus, PONV, pain scores were significantly less in ERAS group than the conventional one. However, readmission and complications were comparable in both groups.
Keywords: Cholecystectomy; Enhanced recovery After Surgery; Fast-track surgery; Laparoscopy; Meta-analysis; Perioperative care; Systematic review.