Enhanced recovery programme after colorectal surgery in high-income and low-middle income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols strive to optimise outcomes following elective surgery; however, there is a dearth of evidence to support its equitable application and efficacy internationally. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the uptake and impact of ERAS with the aim of highlighting differences in implementation and outcomes across high-income countries (HICs) and low-middle income countries (LMICs). The primary outcome was characterisation of global ERAS uptake. Secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay (LOS), 30-day readmission, 30-day mortality and postoperative complications. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-seven studies with considerable heterogeneity were included in the analysis (291 from HICs, and 46 from LMICs) with a total of 110 190 patients. The weighted median number of implemented elements were similar between HICs and LMICs ( P =0·94), but there was a trend towards greater uptake of less affordable elements across all aspects of the ERAS pathway in HICs. The mean LOS was significantly shorter in patient cohorts in HICs (5·85 days versus 7·17 days in LMICs, P <0·001). The 30-day readmission rate was higher in HICs (8·5 vs. 4·25% in LMICs, P <0·001, but no overall world-wide effect when ERAS compared to controls (OR 1·00, 95% CI: 0·88-1·13). There were no reported differences in complications ( P =0·229) or 30-day mortality ( P =0·949). CONCLUSION: Considerable variation in the structure, the implementation and outcomes of ERAS exists between HICs and LMICs, where affordable elements are implemented, contributing towards longer LOS in LMICs. Global efforts are required to ensure equitable access, effective ERAS implementation and a higher standard of perioperative care world-wide.

Development of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Surgical Safety Checklist Through a Modified Delphi Process.

Importance: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) guidelines and the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) are 2 well-established tools for optimizing patient outcomes perioperatively. Objective: To integrate the 2 tools to facilitate key perioperative decision-making. Evidence Review: Snowball sampling recruited international ERAS users from multiple clinical specialties. A 3-round modified Delphi consensus model was used to evaluate 27 colorectal or gynecologic oncology ERAS recommendations for appropriateness to include in an ERAS SSC. Items attaining potential consensus (65%-69% agreement) or consensus (≥70% agreement) were used to develop ERAS-specific SSC prompts. These proposed prompts were evaluated in a second round by the panelists with regard to inclusion, modification, or exclusion. A final round of interactive discussion using quantitative consensus and qualitative comments was used to produce an ERAS-specific SSC. The panel of ERAS experts included surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses within diverse practice settings from 19 countries. Final analysis was conducted in May 2022. Findings: Round 1 was completed by 105 experts from 18 countries. Eleven ERAS components met criteria for development into an SSC prompt. Round 2 was completed by 88 experts. There was universal consensus (≥70% agreement) to include all 37 proposed prompts within the 3-part ERAS-specific SSC (used prior to induction of anesthesia, skin incision, and leaving the operating theater). A third round of qualitative comment review and expert discussion was used to produce a final ERAS-specific SSC that expands on the current WHO SSC to include discussion of analgesia strategies, nausea prevention, appropriate fasting, fluid management, anesthetic protocols, appropriate skin preparation, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, hypothermia prevention, use of foley catheters, and surgical access. The final products of this work included an ERAS-specific SSC ready for implementation and a set of recommendations to integrate ERAS elements into existing SSCs. Conclusions and Relevance: The SSC could be modified to align with ERAS recommendations for patients undergoing major surgery within an ERAS protocol. The stakeholder- and expert-generated ERAS SSC could be adopted directly, or the recommendations for modification could be applied to an existing institutional SSC to facilitate implementation.

Guidelines for Perioperative Care in Elective Abdominal and Pelvic Surgery at Primary and Secondary Hospitals in Low-Middle-Income Countries (LMIC's): Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society Recommendation.

BACKGROUND: This is the first Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society guideline for primary and secondary hospitals in low-middle-income countries (LMIC's) for elective abdominal and gynecologic care. METHODS: The ERAS LMIC Guidelines group was established by the ERAS® Society in collaboration with different representatives of perioperative care from LMIC's. The group consisted of seven members from the ERAS® Society and eight members from LMIC's. An updated systematic literature search and evaluation of evidence from previous ERAS® guidelines was performed by the leading authors of the Colorectal (2018) and Gynecologic (2019) surgery guidelines (Gustafsson et al in World J Surg 43:6592-695, Nelson et al in Int J Gynecol Cancer 29(4):651-668). Meta-analyses randomized controlled trials (RCTs), prospective and retrospective cohort studies from both HIC's and LMIC's were considered for each perioperative item. The members in the LMIC group then applied the current evidence and adapted the recommendations for each intervention as well as identifying possible new items relevant to LMIC's. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system (GRADE) methodology was used to determine the quality of the published evidence. The strength of the recommendations was based on importance of the problem, quality of evidence, balance between desirable and undesirable effects, acceptability to key stakeholders, cost of implementation and specifically the feasibility of implementing in LMIC's and determined through discussions and consensus. RESULTS: In addition to previously described ERAS® Society interventions, the following items were included, revised or discussed: the Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC), preoperative routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in countries with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS (CD4 and viral load for those patients that are HIV positive), delirium screening and prevention, COVID 19 screening, VTE prophylaxis, immuno-nutrition, prehabilitation, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and a standardized postoperative monitoring guideline. CONCLUSIONS: These guidelines are seen as a starting point to address the urgent need to improve perioperative care and to effect data-driven, evidence-based care in LMIC's.

National priorities for perioperative research in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative research is currently unco-ordinated in South Africa (SA), with no clear research agenda. OBJECTIVE: To determine the top ten national research priorities for perioperative research in SA. METHODS: A Delphi technique was used to establish consensus on the top ten research priorities. RESULTS: The top ten research priorities were as follows: (i) establishment of a national database of (a) critical care outcomes, and (b) critical care resources; (ii) a randomised controlled trial of preoperative B-type natriuretic peptide-guided medical therapy to decrease major adverse cardiac events following non-cardiac surgery; (iii) a national prospective observational study of the outcomes associated with paediatric surgical cases; (iv) a national observational study of maternal and fetal outcomes following operative delivery in SA; (v) a stepped-wedge trial of an enhanced recovery after surgery programme for (a) surgery, (b) obstetrics, (c) emergency surgery, and (d) trauma surgery; (vi) a stepped-wedge trial of a surgical safety checklist on patient outcomes in SA; (vii) a prospective observational study of perioperative outcomes after surgery in district general hospitals in SA; (viii) short-course interventions to improve anaesthetic skills in rural doctors; (ix) studies of the efficacy of simulation training to improve (a) patient outcomes, (b) team dynamics, and (c) leadership; and (x) development and validation of a risk stratification tool for SA surgery based on the South African Surgical Outcomes Study (SASOS) data. CONCLUSIONS: These research priorities provide the structure for an intermediate-term research agenda.