Prospective study of enhanced recovery after surgery protocol in children undergoing reconstructive operations.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol is a set of peri-operative strategies to increase speed of recovery. ERAS is well established in adults but has not been well studied in children. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the current study was to establish the safety and efficacy of an ERAS protocol in pediatric urology patients undergoing reconstructive operations. It was hypothesized that ERAS would reduce length of stay and decrease complications when compared with historical controls. STUDY DESIGN: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained to prospectively enroll patients agedpreparation, administration of pre-operative oral carbohydrate liquid, avoidance of opioids, regional anesthesia, laparoscopy when feasible, no postoperative nasogastric tube, early feeding, and early removal of intravenous fluids (IVF). Recent (2009-2014) historical controls were propensity matched in a 2:1 ratio on age, sex, ventriculoperitoneal shunt status and whether the patient was undergoing bladder augmentation. Outcomes were protocol adherence, length of stay (LOS), emergency department (ED) visits, re-admission within 30 days, re-operations and adverse events occurring within 90 days of surgery. RESULTS: A total of 26 historical and 13 ERAS patients were included. Median ages were 10.4 (IQR 8.0-12.4) and 9.9 years (IQR 9.1-11), respectively (P = 0.94) (see Summary Table). There were no significant between-group differences in prior abdominal surgery (38% vs 62%), rate of augmentation (88% vs 92%) or primary diagnosis of spina bifida (both 62%). ERAS significantly improved use of pre-operative liquid load (P \u3c 0.001), avoidance of opioids (P = 0.046), early discontinuation of IVF (P \u3c 0.001), and early feeding (P \u3c 0.001). Protocol adherence improved from 8/16 (IQR 4-9) historically to 12/16 (IQR 11-12) after implementation of ERAS. LOS decreased from 8 days to 5.7 days (P = 0.520). Complications of any grade per patient decreased from 2.1 to 1.3 (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.51-0.97). There were fewer complications per patient across all grades with ERAS. No differences were seen in emergency department (ED) visits, re-admissions and re-operations. DISCUSSION: Implementation improved consistency of care delivered. Tenets of ERAS that appeared to drive improvements included maintenance of euvolemia through avoidance of excess fluids, multimodal analgesia, and early feeding. CONCLUSION: ERAS decreased length of stay and 90-day complications after pediatric reconstructive surgery without increased re-admissions, re-operations or ED visits. A multicenter study will be required to confirm the potential benefits of adopting ERAS

Design and development of the Pediatric Urology Recovery After Surgery Endeavor (PURSUE) multicentre pilot and exploratory study

INTRODUCTION: Lower urinary tract reconstruction in paediatric urology represents a physiologically stressful event that is associated with high complication rates, including readmissions and emergency room visits. Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol is a set of multidisciplinary, perioperative strategies designed to expedite surgical recovery without adversely impacting readmission or reoperation rates. Early paediatric urology data demonstrated ERAS reduced complications in this population. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In 2016, a working group of paediatric urologists and anaesthesiologists convened to develop an ERAS protocol suitable for patients undergoing lower urinary tract reconstruction and define study process measures, patient-reported outcomes and clinically relevant outcomes in paediatric and adolescent/young adult patients. A multicentre, prospective, propensity-matched, case-control study design was chosen. Each centre will enrol five pilot patients to verify implementation. Subsequent enrolled patients will be propensity matched to historical controls. Eligible patients must be aged 4-25 years and undergoing planned operations (bladder augmentation, continent ileovesicostomy or appendicovesicostomy, or urinary diversion). 64 ERAS patients and 128 controls will be needed to detect a decrease in mean length of stay by 2 days. Pilot phase outcomes include attainment of ≥70% mean protocol adherence per patient and reasons for protocol deviations. Exploratory phase primary outcome is ERAS protocol adherence, with secondary outcomes including length of stay, readmissions, reoperations, emergency room visits, 90-day complications, pain scores, opioid usage and differences in Quality of Recovery 9 scores. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been registered with authors\u27 respective institution review boards and will be published in peer-reviewed journals. It will provide robust insight into the feasibility of ERAS in paediatric urology, determine patient outcomes and allow for iteration of ERAS implementations as new best practices and evidence for paediatric surgical care arise. We anticipate this study will take 4 years to fully accrue with completed follow-up. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03245242; Pre-results