Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS): Optimizing Patient Outcomes

Welcome to Medical Specialists Associates’ educational series on topics in anesthesiology. I’m Christopher Voss, MD, MS, board-certified in anesthesiology, critical care medicine, neurocritical care medicine, and pain medicine.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a multimodal, evidence-based approach designed to improve surgical outcomes, reduce hospital stays, and enhance patient recovery. ERAS protocols are gaining widespread adoption as they optimize patient care during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of surgery.

This presentation will explore the principles of ERAS, highlighting the role of anesthesiologists and focusing on practical strategies for implementation.

References:
1. Kehlet H, Wilmore DW. Multimodal strategies to improve surgical outcome. Am J Surg. 2002;183(6):630-641.

2. Ljungqvist O, Scott M, Fearon KC. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: A review. JAMA Surg. 2017;152(3):292-298.

3. Thiele RH, Raghunathan K, Brudney CS, et al. American Society for Enhanced Recovery (ASER) and Perioperative Quality Initiative (POQI) joint consensus statement on perioperative fluid management within an enhanced recovery pathway for colorectal surgery. Perioper Med (Lond). 2016;5:24.

4. Feldheiser A, Aziz O, Baldini G, et al. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) for gastrointestinal surgery, part 2: consensus statement for anesthesia practice. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 2016;60(3):289-334.

5. Miller TE, Mythen M. Perioperative fluid management: the emerging role of goal-directed therapy. Anesthesiol Clin. 2015;33(1):45-58.