Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Guidelines and Hospital Length of Stay, Readmission, Complications, and Mortality

Figure 1.. Study Characteristics (A) Among the studies that reported the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) elements, most included early mobilization, postoperative analgesia considerations, and postoperative diet and bowel management. (B) Reporting on ERAS Compliance, Outcomes, and Elements Research (RECOvER) checklist items of included studies. PRO indicates patient reported outcomes.

Figure 2.. Meta-Analysis of Hospital Length of Stay Patients in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) groups stayed 1.9 days less in hospital compared with control groups. Patient undergoing pancreatic, orthopedic, and gastrointestinal (GI) surgical procedures had greater reductions in hospitals stays than patients undergoing gynecological and breast surgery. ERP, enhanced recovery protocol; RECOvER, Reporting on ERAS Compliance, Outcomes, and Elements Research.

Figure 3.. Meta-Analysis of Hospital Readmission Patients in the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) groups had a lower risk of being readmitted after their index hospitalization than patients in the control group. None of the variables explored were associated with the risk of readmission. ERP indicates enhanced recovery protocol; GI, gastrointestinal; NA, not applicable; RECOvER, Reporting on ERAS Compliance, Outcomes, and Elements Research; RR, risk ratio.

Figure 4.. Meta-Analysis of Complications Patients in the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) groups had a lower risk of having complications after their surgery than patients in the control group. None of the variables explored were associated with the risk of complications. ERP indicates enhanced recovery protocol; GI, gastrointestinal; NA, not applicable; RR, risk ratio.