Implementing a new approach to perioperative care — enhanced recovery after surgery — led to decreased length of stay, fewer urinary tract infections and lower readmissions after colorectal surgery, according to a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.
The ERAS approach to perioperative care aims to standardize care using procedures backed by scientific evidence, as opposed to more traditional perioperative care, in which few procedures are standardized, according to a news release on the study.
For this study, researchers collected data from 241 patients at Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C., who underwent open or laparoscopic colorectal surgery — 99 patients received traditional perioperative care, and 142 had care under the enhanced recovery approach.
The ERAS approach led to a two-day reduction in length of stay for laparoscopic patients, an 11 percent reduction in urinary tract infections and a 10.4 percent reduction in readmission rates when compared to the traditional approach. Additionally, researchers saved costs for about 85 percent of the ERAS patients.
Duke University Hospital now uses the ERAS approach for bladder, pancreas and liver surgeries as well as colorectal surgery.
"We have shown that providing care within an ERAS pathway, we are increasing the quality of care for patients while at the same time reducing complications and medical costs," said Timothy Miller, MD, assistant professor of anesthesiology at Duke and the study's lead author, in the release.
More Articles on Perioperative Care:
AORN Releases New Guidelines on Perioperative Nurse Staffing
Patient Safety Tool: 8 Strategies for Perioperative Nurses to Improve Patient Safety
Transforming the OR: Surviving the Big Squeeze