Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs aim to optimise pre-, intra- and post-operative care in order to improve the quality and speed of recovery in surgical patients. ERAS protocols are complex, requiring organised care from a multidisciplinary team to ensure strong patient outcomes and provide an elevated level of care. Enhanced recovery pathways reduce length of stay (LOS) by an average of 2.35 days and total cost by an average of $639.06 in comparison with conventional perioperative procedures, according to a 2020 meta-analysis of ERAS across multiple surgeries and surgical specialties
[1]. Despite concerns, ERAS does not increase morbidity, mortality or readmission rates
[2], having even been shown to decrease 30-day mortality rates following orthopedic surgery
[1]. Since its beginnings as ‘fast-track’ surgery in 1997
[3], ERAS has been researched across a broad range of surgical subspecialties, from orthopedics to transplant surgery
[4]. The ERAS Study Group (now the ERAS Society) formed in 2001 to develop consensus guidelines for perioperative care using the best available evidence
[4], to encourage further research and to facilitate the discussion of enhanced recovery on an international scale.
2. History of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery
The concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (formerly ‘fast track surgery’) was introduced by Danish surgeon Professor Henrik Kehlet in 1997
[3]. Kehlet suggested that ‘while no single technique or drug regimen has been shown to eliminate postoperative morbidity and mortality, multimodal interventions may lead to a major reduction’ and went on to suggest pre-, intra- and post-operative surgical risk factors that may be addressed through coordinated perioperative protocols
[3]. Following this, Kehlet published a trial that reported a mean post-operative hospital stay of 48 h after elective sigmoid resection
[14]. Though this study included just 16 patients, fast-track surgery reduced post-surgical hospitalisation by 3–8 days
[14].
In 2001 came the formation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Study Group—a group of six surgeons assembled by Professors Ken Fearon and Ollie Ljungqvist and including Professor Kehlet, which aimed to produce and interpret the best available evidence to fine-tune fast track surgery
[15][16]. Operating on the notion that ‘there was a great discrepancy between the actual practices and what was already known to be best practice’
[4], the ERAS Study Group published a review of the patterns of perioperative care in five northern European countries, concluding that colorectal perioperative protocols were neither standardized nor evidence based
[17]. This was corroborated by a larger trial (n = 46,539), which found that crude mortality from cardiac surgery varied from 1.2% to 21.5% across Europe
[18].
Maintaining its focus on colorectal surgery, the ERAS Study Group published what are now seen as the first consensus guidelines for perioperative care, conducting a 2005 review of enhanced recovery protocols in colorectal resections
[19]. Enhanced recovery was becoming better researched, and its efficacy in colorectal surgery was consolidated in a 2010 meta-analysis of six randomized controlled trials, which reported that ERAS reduced length of hospital stay by 2.5 days and significantly reduced complication rates
[20]. Following this, the Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement conducted a trial to assess the ease of implementing ERAS protocols on a wider scale
[21]. They enrolled 33 hospitals in the study and trained staff in a standardized ERAS protocols for elective colonic surgery, reporting significantly decreased LOS associated with early mobilisation and discontinuation of IV fluids as well as post-operative laxative administration
[21]. While successful, the study did identify that adherence to the ERAS protocol fell to just 56% (calculated as mean average adherence to all post-operative aspects of the protocol) in the post-operative phase, having been 80% pre-operatively and 92% intra-operatively
[21]. Studies have since highlighted the correlation between compliance and efficacy of ERAS protocols in both the short and long term
[22][23].
In 2010, the ERAS Study Group registered as a new non-profit organization in Sweden under the title ‘the ERAS Society’, with the hope of evolving to reach other countries and create an international collaborative effort to improve perioperative protocols. Since its inception, the ERAS Society has published continuous research and guidance, held multiple symposia, and taken a leading role in the expansion of ERAS protocols to many new surgical subspecialties. It has also created an interactive audit system to help hospitals comply with ERAS protocols, making it easier for new hospitals to begin improving perioperative care. The main events in the history of ERAS are presented in
Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of key events in the history of ERAS.
3. Key Pre-Operative Advancements
Pre-operative optimisation of patients, an essential aspect of ERAS protocols, allows the patient to prepare both physiologically and psychologically for surgery. Pre-operative interventions that have been studied include a reduced fasting period, carbohydrate loading and various forms of counselling.
3.1. Carbohydrate Loading (CL)
Carbohydrate loading (CL) through pre-operative solutions containing complex carbohydrates such as maltodextrin is recommended by the ERAS Society as well as the European Society of Anaesthesiology
[24][25]. The American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (CAS) also permit the consumption of clear liquids until 2 h prior to surgery, with the CAS going so far as to encourage it
[24][25][26]. Fasting allows time for gastric emptying, thereby reducing the risk of intra-operative pulmonary aspiration
[24][26]. The benefits of carbohydrate loading include metabolic optimisation, increased insulin sensitivity, reduced nausea and vomiting, reduced thirst, and reduced anxiety
[24][25][26].
Pre-operative CL ensures that the body enters surgery in a fed state, which is preferable to the catabolic state that occurs in patients who fast for the standard 8 h pre-surgical period
[24][25][26]. This catabolism results from the inhibition of insulin, which causes the release of glucagon and cortisol; however, CL has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity
[24][25][26]. This negates these effects, reducing post-operative insulin resistance (mean increase in glucose infusion rate of 0.76 mg/kg/min), preserving glycogen and shortening LOS by 0.30 days compared with fasting
[27][28]. CL also decreases the incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting, as identified by Yilmaz et al., who reported significantly lower verbal descriptive scale scores (a measure of nausea) and antiemetic consumptions in carbohydrate-loaded patients following elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy
[29]. CL has also been noted to reduce thirst, hunger, anxiety and malaise as well as increasing fitness when compared with patients who fasted from midnight the evening before surgery
[30].
Despite these effects, CL appears to have no significant impact on rates of post-surgical complication
[25]. CL also has yet to be researched in specific subspecialties, as conclusions are currently reliant on minimal data from studies in a small range of surgeries. Finally, the effect of CL in diabetic populations remains unclear, though experts feel it should be avoided due to its effects on insulin sensitivity
[25].
3.2. Mechanical Bowel Preparation (MBP)
The role of MBP prior to elective colorectal surgery is well studied but controversial, owing to contradictory data from two reviews
[6]. In 2009, Nelson et al. compared the efficacy of oral antibiotics (OA) in combination with MBP, intravenous (IV) antibiotics in combination with MBP, and OA and IV antibiotics together in combination with MBP
[31]. They found that combined OA and IV antibiotics with MBP significantly reduced surgical wound infection compared to all other groups
[31]. In 2011, Guenaga et al. assessed the need for MBP, judging that it was unnecessary as there was no significant difference in complication rates in the ‘no MBP group’ (n = 415) in comparison to ‘MBP group’ (n = 431)
[32]. This led to confusion as there was no existing data regarding the use of OA and IV antibiotics without MBP; however, it was also clear that MBP was not necessary in colorectal surgery.
Subsequent trials in 2012 and 2015 found that OA plus MBP reduces the incidence of surgical wound infection by 40–57% (when compared with no OA or MBP), as well as reducing complications such as ileus and anastomotic leak
[33][34]. Settling the issue, the American Society for Enhanced Recovery (ASER) and the Perioperative Quality Initiative (PQI) released a joint consensus statement in 2017
[6]. This statement included three recommendations for pre-operative MBP. These were as follows:
‘We recommend routine use of a combined isosmotic MBP with OA before elective colorectal surgery’.
‘We do not recommend use of MBP without concurrent oral antibiotics before elective colorectal surgery’.
‘We recommend against the use of hyperosmotic bowel prep solutions before elective colorectal surgery’.
The final recommendation concerns the use of hyperosmotic bowel preparation solutions. The reason for this is that hyperosmotic solutions cause changes in plasma osmolality as well as phosphate, urea, calcium and potassium concentrations and can lead to renal impairment
[35].
3.3. Patient Education and Counselling
It is widely accepted that pre-operative patient education and counselling should be included in many if not all ERAS pathways. This allows the patient to manage their expectations before undergoing surgery
[5], helps them to prepare psychologically, and can increase compliance to ensure a quick recovery. Forsmo et al. reported an average reduction in LOS of three days in colorectal surgical patients managed under an enhanced recovery pathway with a particular focus on counselling
[36]. This research group also found that pre-operative stoma education reduces LOS without increasing the rate of readmission or early stoma-related complications
[37], corroborating the findings of Younis et al. in 2012
[38]. This may be attributed to education on ‘independent stoma management’, which was identified as a limiting factor in the speedy recovery and discharge of patients
[38].
Education and counselling have also been shown to improve pain control, especially in patients experiencing high levels of anxiety related to their surgery
[19]. This effect appears to be consistent with all forms of patient education, from informal spoken information to leaflets
[5], with one study advocating journaling on the grounds that it increases patient empowerment
[39]. While the benefits seem clear, there is some evidence that providing excessive information to patients may actually reduce post-operative satisfaction. Barlesi et al. found that patients receiving both oral and written information were significantly dissatisfied following surgery in comparison to those receiving only oral information
[40]. Overall, the ERAS Society and European Society of Thoracic Surgeons strongly recommend the inclusion of patient education and counselling in ERAS pathways, despite reporting ‘low’ levels of evidence
[5].
4. Conclusions
ERAS pathways offer safe and cost-effective approaches to perioperative care, which improve patient outcomes without increasing rates of complication. Since the inception of ERAS in 1997, so-called ‘fast-track’ surgical pathways have become widely used in multiple specialties, and the standard of perioperative care has improved substantially, in no small part due to the work of the ERAS Society. Key advancements have been made, including pre-operative carbohydrate loading, patient education, GDFT and early enteral nutrition. However, the uptake of ERAS in transplantation surgeries has been slow, leading to a paucity of literature in the field. While recent years have seen some developments in ERAS relating to liver and kidney transplants, other areas of solid-organ transplantation—including lung, heart and pancreas transplantation—are yet to make notable progress. Future research should address the feasibility and efficacy of ERAS in these areas, and emphasis should be placed on the speedy incorporation of ERAS pathways into standard perioperative care for transplant surgeries.