Post-surgery Recovery Programme and Care Improvement

A new study, published in JAMA Surgery, describes how a recovery programme intended to improve outcomes after surgery has benefited patients undergoing elective colorectal resection or emergency hip fracture repair.

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Vincent X. Liu, MD, MS, of Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, and colleagues evaluated the outcomes of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme designed with a particular focus on perioperative pain management, mobility, nutrition, and patient engagement. The study included a total of 3,768 patients undergoing elective colorectal resection and 5,002 patients undergoing emergency hip fracture repair. Comparison surgical patients included 5,556 patients undergoing elective gastrointestinal surgery and 1,523 patients undergoing emergency orthopaedic surgery.

Dr. Liu's team found that implementation of the ERAS programme at 20 hospitals led to significant practice changes, including those for mobility, nutrition, and opioid use. As a result, hospital length of stay and postoperative complication rates were significantly lower among patients in the ERAS group. In addition, ERAS implementation was associated with decreased rates of hospital mortality among patients undergoing colorectal resection, while implementation was associated with increased rates of home discharge among patients with hip fracture.

“Rapid, large-scale implementation of a multidisciplinary ERAS programme is feasible and effective in improving surgical outcomes,” Dr. Liu and co-authors write.  

Source: JAMA Surgery
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