Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 21, 2018; 24(15): 1666-1678
Published online Apr 21, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i15.1666
Impact of enhanced recovery after surgery programs on pancreatic surgery: A meta-analysis
Hai-Bin Ji, Wen-Tao Zhu, Qiang Wei, Xiao-Xiao Wang, Hai-Bin Wang, Qiang-Pu Chen
Hai-Bin Ji, Wen-Tao Zhu, Qiang Wei, Xiao-Xiao Wang, Hai-Bin Wang, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Binzhou 256603, Shandong Province, China
Qiang-Pu Chen, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Clinical Nutrition Support Center, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University; Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism Key Laboratory of Shandong Province, Binzhou 256603, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Zhu WT, Wei Q, and Chen QP designed the research; Ji HB, Wei Q, Wang XX, and Wang HB performed the research; Ji HB, Zhu WT, and Wei Q analyzed the data; Ji HB, Wang XX, and Chen QP wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors deny any conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Qiang-Pu Chen, MS, professor, Chief, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Clinical Nutrition Support Center, Affiliated Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism Key Laboratory of Shandong Province, NO.661 of the 2nd Huanghe Road, Binzhou 256603, Shandong Province, China. drcqp_med@163.com.
Telephone: +86-543-3258597 Fax: +86-543-3257792
Received: February 5, 2018
Peer-review started: February 6, 2018
First decision: February 24, 2018
Revised: March 8, 2018
Accepted: March 18, 2018
Article in press: March 18, 2018
Published online: April 21, 2018
Processing time: 72 Days and 19.5 Hours
Abstract
AIM

To evaluate the impact of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs on postoperative complications of pancreatic surgery.

METHODS

Computer searches were performed in databases (including PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase) for randomized controlled trials or case-control studies describing ERAS programs in patients undergoing pancreatic surgery published between January 1995 and August 2017. Two researchers independently evaluated the quality of the studies’ extracted data that met the inclusion criteria and performed a meta-analysis using RevMan5.3.5 software. Forest plots, demonstrating the outcomes of the ERAS group vs the control group after pancreatic surgery, and funnel plots were used to evaluate potential publication bias.

RESULTS

Twenty case-control studies including 3694 patients, published between January 1995 and August 2017, were selected for the meta-analysis. This study included the ERAS group (n = 1886) and the control group (n = 1808), which adopted the traditional perioperative management. Compared to the control group, the ERAS group had lower delayed gastric emptying rates [odds ratio (OR) = 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48-0.72, P < 0.00001], lower postoperative complication rates (OR = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.45-0.72, P < 0.00001), particularly for the mild postoperative complications (Clavien-Dindo I-II) (OR = 0.71, 95%CI: 0.58-0.88, P = 0.002), lower abdominal infection rates (OR = 0.70, 95%CI: 0.54-0.90, P = 0.006), and shorter postoperative length of hospital stay (PLOS) (WMD = -4.45, 95%CI: -5.99 to -2.91, P < 0.00001). However, there were no significant differences in complications, such as, postoperative pancreatic fistulas, moderate to severe complications (Clavien-Dindo III- V), mortality, readmission and unintended reoperation, in both groups.

CONCLUSION

The perioperative implementation of ERAS programs in pancreatic surgery is safe and effective, can decrease postoperative complication rates, and can promote recovery for patients.

Keywords: Pancreatic surgery; Enhanced recovery after surgery; Postoperative complication; Meta-analysis

Core tip: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have been launched in a variety of surgical fields, including colorectal, orthopedics, urology, esophageal and gynecology, demonstrating favorable outcomes. Pancreatic surgery is considered a high-risk abdominal surgery, due to increased surgical trauma and high incidence of postoperative complications. In this meta-analysis we aimed to evaluate the impact of ERAS on complications of pancreatic surgery. The present study demonstrates that ERAS could reduce complication rates, especially of mild complications, delayed gastric emptying, abdominal infection and postoperative length of hospital stay, while not affecting the rates of postoperative pancreatic fistulas, reoperation, readmission and mortality during the perioperative period.