ORLANDO – Widespread implementation of an analysis shows.
The benefits were particularly pronounced in the subset of patients undergoing laparoscopic colectomy in the retrospective analysis, which included data for treated at four institutions in the Virginia Surgical Quality Collaborative Workgroup.
While the benefits of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) are well known, most of the published data has come from single-institution experiences, according to investigator Traci L. Hedrick, MD, FACS, of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
At the American College of Surgeons Quality and Safety Conference, Dr. Hedrick presented risk-adjusted National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data for 2,971 consecutive procedures during 2012-2016 at the University of Virginia, Winchester Medical Center, Carilion Clinic, and Inova Fairfax.
“Institutions came and went from the collaborative during this time period, so we focused on those institutions that maintained in the collaborative throughout the entire study protocol,” Dr. Hedrick said in her presentation.
Of the 2,971 procedures, about half (1,460) were performed after implementation of enhanced recovery protocols. Laparoscopic and open procedures were analyzed separately due to a substantial shift toward laparoscopic procedures, mainly during the 2012-2014 period, Dr. Hedrick said.
Among laparoscopic cases, there was a significant 1-day reduction in median length of stay, dropping from 4 days for pre–enhanced recovery protocol cases to 3 days for post–enhanced recovery protocol cases, Dr. Hedrick reported.
Observed morbidity also dropped significantly from 14.8% to 8.9% for the pre– and post–enhanced recovery cases, and the readmission rate fell significantly from 13% to 8.8%.
For open cases, there was a significant 1-day drop in median length of stay, from 4 to 3 days, but no significant differences in observed morbidity or readmission rates, according to Dr. Hedrick.
“As more of the patients were done laparoscopically, that really selected out the more complicated patients that were undergoing open procedures,” she said.
The protocols implemented by institutions in the Virginia collaborative group were generally uniform in important tenants of enhanced recovery, such as opioid minimization and avoidance of fasting, but specific elements were left up to each institution to improve buy-in, according to Dr. Hedrick.
“A lot of our protocols are very similar, particularly with regards to the order set,” Dr. Hedrick explained, “[but] I really am a firm believer in not being very strict about exactly what to use, because it’s so dependent on preference at the local level.”
The Virginia Surgical Quality Collaborative Workgroup is one of 20 regional ACS NSQIP collaboratives with the objective of improving surgical outcomes through multi-institutional collaboration, Dr. Hedrick said.
Dr. Hedrick and her coinvestigators had no relevant disclosures to report.