Enhanced recovery after surgery in children undergoing abdominal surgery: meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a multimodal approach that streamlines patient processes before, during, and after surgery. The goal is to reduce surgical stress responses and improve outcomes; however, the impact of ERAS programmes in paediatric abdominal surgery remains unclear. The authors aimed to review the effectiveness of ERAS on clinical outcomes in children undergoing abdominal surgery. Method CINAHL, CENTRAL, Embase, ProQuest, PubMed, and Scopus were searched for relevant studies published from inception until January 2021. The length of hospital stay (LOS), time to oral intake, time to stool, complication rates, and 30-day readmissions were measured. Meta-analyses and subgroup analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.4 with a random-effects model. Results Among 2371 records from the initial search, 111 articles were retrieved for full-text screening and 12 were included for analyses. The pooled mean difference (MD) demonstrated reduced LOS (MD −1.96; 95 per cent c.i. −2.75 to −1.17), time to oral intake (MD −3.37; 95 per cent c.i. −4.84 to −1.89), and time to stool (MD −4.19; 95 per cent c.i. −6.37 to −2.02). ERAS reduced postoperative complications by half and 30-day readmission by 36 per cent. Subgroup analyses for continuous outcomes suggested that ERAS was more effective in children than adolescents. Conclusion ERAS was effective in improving clinical outcomes for paediatric patients undergoing abdominal surgery.