The majority of this literature derives from the study of patients undergoing colorectal surgery , but increasingly enhanced recovery is spreading to other surgical specialties .
The combination of reduced length of hospital stay ( a surrogate for morbidity ) with no increase in readmissions to hospital suggests that morbidity is reduced with enhanced recovery .
Inconsistency in morbidity reporting limits the value of pooling data between studies , but within study comparisons in general support this conclusion .
Patients adhering to an  enhanced recovery programme  return to normal function faster than those following traditional care pathways .
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The aim of this review is to summarize important publications in  enhanced recovery during 2010 - 2011 and to highlight key themes .
Fast-track hysterectomy: a randomised, controlled study.
OBJECTIVE To investigate if intrathecally administered morphine combined with a low-dose mode of total intravenous anaesthesia ( TIVA ) accelerates recovery after abdominal surgery as compared , to patient-controlled analgesia ( PCA ) combined with anaesthesia , based on volatile anaesthetics . STUDY DESIGN Fifty-three patients who were hysterectomised abdominally were r and omised to TIVA or PCA .  Their per- and post-operative course was strictly monitored and their pain score was evaluated with a visual analogue scale at repeated time intervals . RESULTS Patients with TIVA had a significantly shorter stay on the post-operative ward , 180 (105 - 330)min , compared with the PCA group , 237 (120 - 1140)min ( p<0.01 ) . The start of peroral fluid also differed significantly between groups , 4h ( 2 - 6 ) for TIVA versus 5h ( 2 - 24 ) for the PCA group ( p<0.01 ) . The removal of the indwelling catheter took place significantly earlier in the TIVA group , 9h ( 5 - 23 ) versus 22h ( 17 - 24 ) in the PCA group ( p<0.0001 ) . There was significantly less post-operative nausea in the TIVA group compared with the PCA group on the first post-operative day ( p<0.01 ) . The length of stay was shorter , 2 days ( 1 - 3 ) compared with 3 days ( 1 - 6 ) for the TIVA group versus PCA ( p<0.001 ) . There was no difference in complications between groups . One patient in each group was re-admitted to hospital because of a vaginal cuff infection . CONCLUSION The TIVA per- and post-operative care was an advantage over PCA in most respects
The majority of this literature derives from the study of patients undergoing colorectal surgery , but increasingly enhanced recovery is spreading to other surgical specialties .
The combination of reduced length of hospital stay ( a surrogate for morbidity ) with no increase in readmissions to hospital suggests that morbidity is reduced with enhanced recovery .
Inconsistency in morbidity reporting limits the value of pooling data between studies , but within study comparisons in general support this conclusion .
Patients adhering to an  enhanced recovery programme  return to normal function faster than those following traditional care pathways .
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The aim of this review is to summarize important publications in  enhanced recovery during 2010 - 2011 and to highlight key themes .