Clinical Practice Guidelines for Enhanced Recovery After Colon and Rectal Surgery From the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons

This clinical practice guideline represents a collaborative effort between the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). The ASCRS Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee is composed of society members who are chosen because they have demonstrated expertise in the specialty of colon and rectal surgery. In a collaborative effort, the ASCRS Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee and members of the SAGES Surgical Multimodal Accelerated Recovery Trajectory Enhanced Recovery Task Force and Guidelines Committee have joined together to produce this guideline, written and approved by both societies. The combined ASCRS/SAGES panel worked together to develop the statements in this guideline and approved these final recommendations. Through this effort, the ASCRS and SAGES continue their dedication to ensuring high-quality perioperative patient care. Previous guidelines on perioperative care for colon1 and rectal2 surgery included studies identified up to January 2012 with significant literature published since then. The combined ASCRS/SAGES committee was created to define current best-quality care for enhanced recovery after colon and rectal surgery. This clinical practice guideline is based on the best available evidence. These guidelines are inclusive and not prescriptive. Their purpose is to provide information on which decisions can be made rather than to dictate a specific form of treatment. These guidelines are intended for the use of all practitioners, healthcare workers, and patients who desire information about the management of the conditions addressed by the topics covered in these guidelines. It should be recognized that these guidelines should not be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care or exclusive of methods of care reasonably directed toward obtaining the same results. The ultimate judgment regarding the propriety of any specific procedure must be made by the physician in light of all of the circumstances presented by the individual patient. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Contemporary colorectal surgery is often associated with long length of stay (8 days for open surgery and 5 days for laparoscopic surgery),3 high cost,3 and rates of surgical site infection approaching 20%.4 During the hospital stay for elective colorectal surgery, the incidence of perioperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) may be as high as 80% in patients with certain risk factors.5 After discharge from colorectal surgery, readmission rates have been noted as high as 35.4%.6 An enhanced recovery protocol (ERP) is a set of standardized perioperative procedures and practices that is applied to all patients undergoing a given elective surgery. In general, these protocols are not intended for emergent cases, but components of them certainly could apply to the emergent/urgent patient. Also known as fast-track protocols or enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)1 protocols, the content of these specific protocols may vary significantly, but all are designed as a means to improve patient outcomes. Outcomes of interest to patients and providers include freedom from nausea, freedom from pain at rest, early return of bowel function, improved wound healing, and early hospital discharge.7 Although numerous perioperative protocols currently exist, this clinical practice guideline will evaluate the strength of evidence in support of measures to improve patient recovery after elective colon and rectal resections. A 2011 Cochrane review found that ERPs were associated with a reduction in overall complications and length of stay when compared with conventional perioperative patient management.8 Subsequent studies have shown that ERPs are associated with reduced healthcare costs and improved patient satisfaction.4 ERPs are also associated with improved outcomes regardless of whether patients undergo laparoscopic or open surgery.9 Studies have also shown that ERPs cannot simply be implemented and forgotten but require a continued audit process in place to guide compliance and to continue to improve quality.10–13 There are many different preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative components in a typical ERP, and it is difficult to identify which are the most beneficial components of the bundle of measures, because they are generally all implemented simultaneously. However, one retrospective review of 8 years of compliance with an ERP identified these items as the strongest predictors of shorter length of stay: no nasogastric tube, early mobilization, early oral nutrition (early discontinuance of intravenous fluids), early removal of epidural, early removal of and This clinical practice guideline will evaluate the evidence ERPs for colorectal surgery. of the SAGES and ASCRS Practice Guidelines Committee worked in of these guidelines from to final were approved by committee and These guidelines were a standardized for the of all of clinical practice which for of a review of the and of the of the of and of the The of specific of studies and of evidence for are available in the but all of the an of and the Cochrane of a of on and were from to and were to of the from the were also in certain and were given in these guidelines. 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