What is the role of enhanced recovery after surgery in children? A scoping review.
OBJECTIVE
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways are standard practice in adult specialties resulting in improved outcomes. It is unclear whether ERAS principles are applicable to Paediatric Surgery. We performed a scoping review to identify the extent to which ERAS has been used in Paediatric Surgery, the nature of interventions, and outcomes.


METHODS
Pubmed, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, and Embase were searched using the terms enhanced recovery, post-operative protocol/pathway, fast track surgery, and paediatric surgery. Studies were excluded if they did not include abdominal/thoracic/urological procedures in children.


RESULTS
Nine studies were identified (2003-2014; total 1269 patients): three case control studies, one retrospective review and five prospective implementations, no RCTs. Interventional elements identified were post-operative feeding, mobilisation protocols, morphine-sparing analgesia, reduced use of nasogastric tubes and urinary catheters. Outcomes reported included post-operative length of stay (LOS), time to oral feeding and stooling, complications, and parent satisfaction. Fast-track programmes significantly reduced LOS in 6/7 studies, time to oral feeding in 3/3 studies, and time to stooling in 2/3 studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The use of ERAS pathways in Paediatric surgery appears very limited but such pathways may have benefits in children. Prospective studies should evaluate interventions used in adult ERAS on appropriate outcomes in the paediatric setting.
Department of General Surgery, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK.|University Surgery Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Katherine L
KL
Pearson
University Surgery Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. n.j.hall@soton.ac.uk.|Department of Paediatric Surgery and Urology, Southampton Children's Hospital, Southampton, UK. n.j.hall@soton.ac.uk.
Nigel J
NJ
Hall
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative
Enhanced recovery after surgery; Fast track; Paediatric surgery; Post-operative
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