• Vol. 48 No. 11, 347–353
  • 15 November 2019

Outcome of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) for Colorectal Surgery in Early Elderly and Late Elderly Patients

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine the outcome of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme in elderly colorectal surgery patients. Materials and Methods: Details and surgical outcomes of elderly patients undergoing elective colectomy and/or proctectomy according to ERAS protocol from 2011 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 groups: early elderly (EE, n = 107) aged 65–74 years old and late elderly (LE, n = 74) aged ≥75 years old. Results: This study included 181 patients. The LE group had poorer baseline characteristics, but the operative details in both groups were comparable. Overall complication and severe complication rates were 28% and 3.3%, respectively. The LE group had a higher overall complication rate (38% vs 22%; P = 0.016) but comparable rate of severe complications (2.7% vs 3.7%; P = 1.00). Median postoperative stay was 4 days (interquartile range [IQR], 4–6 days) and it was not significantly different between both groups (5 days for LE vs 4 days for EE; P = 0.176). No difference was seen in time to gastrointestinal recovery and 30-day mortality or readmission between both groups. Overall compliance with ERAS protocol was 76% (IQR, 65–82%) and it did not vary significantly between the LE (71%) and EE (76%) groups (P = 0.301). However, the LE group had lower compliance with fluid management, nutrition therapy and use of multimodal analgesia. Conclusion: ERAS is a safe and effective protocol that can be used in EE and LE colorectal surgery patients.


Individuals ≥65 years old are termed elderly. In the literature, a distinction is made between those aged 65–74 years, described as “early elderly” (EE), and those aged ≥75 years, known as “late elderly” (LE). In surgical practice, there is evidence that advanced age is an important risk factor for postoperative morbidity and mortality.

This article is available only as a PDF. Please click on “Download PDF” on top to view the full article.