The present systematic review shows that , with the exception of laparoscopic surgery , objective evidence of the effect of individual components of ERAS protocol s in reducing the stress response following colorectal surgery is limited
Abstract Enhanced Recovery or Fast Track Recovery after Surgery protocol s ( ERAS ) have significantly changed perioperative care following colorectal surgery and are promoted as reducing the stress response to surgery .
Impact of Age on Perioperative Complications and Length of Stay in Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery
As the U.S. population ages , major surgical procedures are being performed in elderly patients with increasing frequency ( 1 ) , but few data are available to guide preoperative risk stratification . Several studies have described correlates of cardiac morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery  ( 2 - 8 ) , but the number of elderly patients in most series has been small . Furthermore , few data are available on noncardiac complications , the overall complication rate , and length of stay . We describe the influence of age on perioperative complication and mortality rates in a large cohort of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery .  As discussed elsewhere , age was not an independent correlate of major cardiac complications in this cohort ( 7 ) . This analysis tests the hypothesis that advanced age is a correlate of the overall rate of complications , after adjustment for functional status . Methods Patients All patients 50 years of age or older who underwent major nonemergent noncardiac procedures at Brigham and Women 's Hospital , Boston , Massachusetts , from 18 July 1989 to 28 February 1994 were eligible for the study . Major noncardiac procedures were defined as those with an expected length of stay of 2 or more days . Procedures were electively scheduled or were performed nonemergently during inpatient admissions . Eligibility criteria included the ability to speak English and adequate cognitive function to give informed consent . The enrollment and clinical data collection protocol s were approved by the institutional review board of Brigham and Women 's Hospital . The full study protocol included preoperative interviews by clinical study personnel ( physicians or research nurses ) . Of the 4315 patients who provided informed consent to participate , 621 ( 14.4 % ) did not provide consent before surgery for the serial interview portion of the study , which included interviews 1 and 6 months after surgery . Patients who were not interviewed before surgery were not excluded on the basis of age or clinical status , but solely according to the availability of study personnel . Data Collection The data collection protocol is described elsewhere ( 7 , 9 , 10 ) . In brief , patients who provided informed consent to the full study protocol underwent preoperative evaluation by clinical investigators ( physicians or research nurses ) using a structured data form . These evaluations included detailed medical histories , physical examinations , and laboratory tests . For patients who did not undergo this evaluation because they could not be approached or because they declined participation in the interview portion of the study , we obtained clinical data from the structured evaluation by the anesthesiologist found in the medical record . This data source was also used to obtain American Society of Anesthesiologists classification for all patients . Hence , prospect ively recorded clinical data were available for all patients . Consenting patients agreed to postoperative sampling of creatine kinase and , if total creatine kinase levels were elevated , measurement of creatine kinaseMB immediately after surgery , at 8 p.m. on the evening of surgery , and on the next two mornings . In all other enrolled patients , creatine kinaseMB was measured according to the physician 's orders . Among all participants , the mean ( SD ) number of cardiac enzyme sample s obtained was 4.0 2.2 . Electrocardiography was performed in the recovery room and on the first , third , and fifth postoperative days if the patient remained hospitalized . The Charlson Comorbidity Index , a weighted comorbidity score based on the number and the severity of 16 selected medical diseases , was used to quantify the burden of medical comorbid conditions ( 11 ) . The mean number of other common comorbid conditions in this population was calculated for all patients . Preoperative functional status was assessed in 3890 patients by performing structured interviews using the  Specific Activity Scale , an ordinally scaled , four-class instrument based on metabolic expenditure in various personal care , housework , occupational , and recreational activities ( 12 , 13 ) . This group included 196 patients who consented to preoperative interviews but did not consent to the full study protocol , including long-term follow-up . Classification of Outcomes The occurrence of major cardiac events postoperatively was classified by a single review er who was blinded to preoperative clinical data and who evaluated only postoperative clinical information , including cardiac enzyme measurements , electrocardiograms , and clinical events . Myocardial infa rct ion was diagnosed on the basis of creatine kinaseMB levels and electrocardiographic findings ( 10 ) . Major cardiac complications were unstable angina ( postoperative typical chest pain associated with ischemic electrocardiographic changes ) , myocardial infa rct ion , cardiogenic pulmonary edema , documented ventricular tachycardia , ventricular fibrillation or primary cardiac arrest , and sustained complete heart block requiring pacemaker . Major noncardiac events were pulmonary embolism documented by autopsy , angiography , or a high-probability ventilationperfusion scan ; respiratory failure requiring intubation for more than 2 days or reintubation ; noncardiogenic pulmonary edema ; lobar pneumonia confirmed by chest radiography and requiring antibiotic therapy ; acute renal failure requiring dialysis ; or cerebrovascular accident with new neurologic deficit . In-hospital mortality was also recorded , and the combined end point of major cardiac or noncardiac complications or death was used in these analyses . Statistical Analysis To evaluate the impact of age on postoperative complications , we performed analyses in which age was considered as a continuous variable and as four categories ( 50 to 59 years , 60 to 69 years , 70 to 79 years , and 80 years ) . Because age was not linearly associated with the risk for outcomes , categorized age variables are used throughout this report . Univariate correlations between clinical characteristics and age category were analyzed by using the chi-square test and the Fisher exact test for categorical variables and a t-test or Wilcoxon test for continuous variables . Because several clinical and laboratory variables are associated with age and because it is difficult to exclude the association of age with the event of interest , we included all relevant clinical variables in the multivariate analysis . Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent association of age with postoperative complications while controlling for the presence of comorbid conditions , sex , ethnicity , functional status as measured by Specific Activity Scale class , type of procedure , and preoperative laboratory data . Patients for whom data on selected variables were missing were excluded from the model . Clinical ly relevant variables from the regression model were analyzed for potential interactions , and potentially significant interaction terms were considered in the regression models . A two-sided P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant in all analyses . Linear regression models were used to estimate the independent variation in length of stay attributable to age , controlling for sex , ethnicity , preoperative clinical characteristics , American Society of Anesthesiologists classification , type of procedure , postoperative events , and in-hospital mortality . The logarithmic transformation of length of stay was used because of the non-normal distribution of this variable . The percentage change in the geometric mean of length of stay in the final model was used to estimate the numbers of adjusted hospital days attributable to age groups . All analyses were performed by using SAS statistical software for Windows , version 6.12 ( SAS Institute , Inc. , Cary , North Carolina ) . Role of the Funding Source The funding source had no role in data collection and analysis or in subsequent decisions about publication of manuscripts . Results Patients The study sample constituted 4315 patients who had a mean age of 67 9 years ; 2096 patients ( 48 % ) were male and 3903 ( 90 % ) were white . Twenty-four percent ( 1015 patients ) were younger than 59 years , 38 % ( 1646 patients ) were 60 to 69 years of age , 31 % ( 1341 patients ) were 70 to 79 years of age , and 7 % ( 313 patients ) were older than 80 years of age . These patients undergoing elective surgery had a low prevalence of comorbid conditions , and 3187 ( 74 % ) patients had Charlson Comorbidity Index scores of 0 through 2 . The types of procedures performed were orthopedic ( 35 % ) , intrathoracic ( 12 % ) , abdominal ( 12 % ) , abdominal aortic aneurysm ( 5 % ) , other vascular ( 17 % ) , and other general surgical procedures ( 33 % ) . In the oldest age group , significantly fewer patients were male and nonwhite compared with the younger age groups ( Table 1 ) . The number of comorbid conditions and the average Charlson Comorbidity Index scores increased with increasing age . The distribution of Specific Activity Scale class and American Society of Anesthesiology class was also significantly worse in the older age groups ; a greater proportion of patients 70 to 79 years of age and 80 years of age was classified as class 3 or 4 . As expected , the type of surgical procedure performed varied among age groups . Higher percentages of older patients underwent orthopedic procedures , aortic aneurysm repair , and other vascular surgeries ( Table 1 ) . Table 1 . Patient Characteristics Perioperative Complications Major or fatal perioperative complications occurred in 44 ( 4.3 % ) patients younger than 59 years of age , 93 ( 5.7 % ) patients 60 to 69 years of age , 129 ( 9.6 % ) patients 70 to 79 years of age , and 39 ( 12.5 % ) patients 80 years of age or older ( P<0.001 ) ( Figure ) . Age was significantly associated with a higher risk for cardiogenic pulmonary edema , myocardial infa rct ion , ventricular arrhythmias , bacterial pneumonia , respiratory failure requiring intubation , and in-hospital mortality . All other major complications
The present systematic review shows that , with the exception of laparoscopic surgery , objective evidence of the effect of individual components of ERAS protocol s in reducing the stress response following colorectal surgery is limited
Abstract Enhanced Recovery or Fast Track Recovery after Surgery protocol s ( ERAS ) have significantly changed perioperative care following colorectal surgery and are promoted as reducing the stress response to surgery .