Adherence to enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in older adults following colorectal resection

Introduction: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is an established pathway to improve short-term outcomes in colorectal surgery. It is unclear whether the efficacy, feasibility, and safety of the ERAS protocol are similar in older and younger patients. The study examined adherence to the ERAS protocol and identified factors leading to deviations in older patients.

Materials and methods: Patients undergoing colorectal resection were prospectively included in the ERAS protocol between 2019 and 2022. The cohort was stratified according to age and ERAS adherence score. The patients were compared regarding clinical short-term follow-up (30 days). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the statistical program R (version 4.1.2).

Results: During the study period, 414 patients were recruited, including 132 patients (31.9 %) aged ≥75 years. The cohort of older adults showed significantly higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores III/IV (57.8 % vs. 81.8 %; p < 0.001) and more frequently malignant diseases (45.9 % vs. 64.1 %; p < 0.001), but a lower body mass index (26.7 vs. 24.4; p < 0.001). Furthermore, older adults achieved significantly lower adherence to the ERAS protocol in the postoperative phase (84.6 % vs. 80.1 %; p = 0.003) and experienced a longer median length of hospital stay (6 vs. 8 days; p < 0.001). The differences identified were increased change of body weight on postoperative day 1, delayed removal of a urinary catheter, and shorter duration of mobilization on postoperative days 2 and 3 (p < 0.05). However, in the multivariate analysis, emergency and open surgery as well as severe complications, but not age, were elicited as independent predictive factors for lower adherence to the ERAS protocol postoperatively.

Discussion: Adherence to the postoperative ERAS requirements appears to be lower in older patients, although age alone was not an independent factor in our multivariate analysis and therefore not responsible for a lower adherence to the postoperative ERAS protocol after colorectal resection. This difference underlines the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork in daily practice to achieve optimal postoperative results, especially in older adults.