Elderly Patients Benefit From Enhanced Recovery Protocols After Colorectal Surgery.

Abstract Background Enhanced recovery protocols (ERAS) aim to decrease physiological stress response to surgery and maintain postoperative physiological function. Proponents of ERAS state these protocols decrease lengths of stay (LOS) and complication rates. Our aim was to assess whether elderly patients receive the same benefit as younger patients using ERAS protocols. Methods We queried patients from 2015 to 2017 at our institution with Enhanced Recovery in Surgery (ERIN) variables from the targeted colectomy NSQIP database. The patients were divided into sextiles and analyzed for readmission, LOS, return of bowel function, tolerating diet, mobilization, and multimodal pain management comparing the youngest sextile to the oldest sextile. Results Two hundred sixty-two patients (73% colectomies) were enrolled in ERAS. When compared with the youngest sextile (age 19-43.8), the oldest sextile (age 71.4-92.5) had similar readmission rates at 9.8% versus 9.5% (P-value = 0.87), quicker return of bowel function, average 1.9 d versus 3.7 d (P-value Conclusion Overall, elderly patients fared better or the same on the ERIN variables analyzed than the younger cohort. ERAS protocols are beneficial and applicable to elderly patients undergoing colorectal surgery.