Evaluation of Pre-Operative and Post-Operative Practices of Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery According to ERAS Protocol

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the pre-operative and post-operative practices of patients undergoing abdominal surgery, according to the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in May-June 2022 as descriptive - cross-sectional. Patients who underwent abdominal surgery in the general surgery clinics of a university hospital in Istanbul constituted the population of the study. No sample was selected and 102 volunteer patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Results: In the study, it was observed that although most of the pre-operative and post-operative practices of patients undergoing abdominal surgery had high compliance with ERAS protocols, practices such as pre-operative fasting time and post-operative first oral intake time were low, and patients undergoing open surgery were discharged in an average of 6 days, while patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopic) were discharged in an average of 3 days. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it was determined that all elements of ERAS protocols are still not complied with in the clinics. Regular auditing of compliance with the protocol and reporting of results in clinics is very important and it is recommended to support this research with larger-scale and multicenter studies.