Abstract
BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) tumors are among the most prevalent malignancies, and surgical intervention remains a primary treatment modality. However, the complexity of GI surgery often leads to prolonged recovery and high postoperative complication rates, which threaten patient safety and functional outcomes. Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) principles have been shown to improve perioperative outcomes through evidence-based, multidisciplinary care pathways. Despite its widespread adoption, there is a paucity of research focusing specifically on optimizing ERAS-guided nursing processes in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and evaluating its impact on perioperative safety in patients undergoing GI tumor surgery. This study aimed to investigate whether an ERAS-based PACU nursing protocol could enhance recovery, reduce complications, and improve patient safety in this surgical population. AIM: To explore the impact of optimizing the recovery room nursing process based on ERAS on the perioperative safety of patients with GI tumors. METHODS: A total of 260 patients with GI tumors who underwent elective surgeries under general anesthesia in our hospital from August 2023 to August 2025 and were then observed in the recovery unit (PACU) were selected. They were randomly divided into the observation group (the PACU nursing process was optimized based on ERAS) and the control group (the conventional PACU nursing process was adopted) by the random number grouping method, with 130 cases in each group. The time of gastric tube removal, urinary catheter removal, defecation time, hospital stay, time of leaving the room after tube removal, retention time in the recovery room, occurrence of complications, satisfaction and readmission rate were compared between the two groups after entering the room. Compare the occurrence of adverse events in the PACU nursing process between the two groups. RESULTS: The time of gastric tube removal, urinary catheter removal, defecation time, hospital stay, retention time in the recovery room, total incidence of complications and readmission rate in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the satisfaction rate was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The occurrence of adverse events in the PACU nursing process in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Optimizing the PACU nursing process based on ERAS can effectively accelerate the recovery process of patients undergoing GI tumor surgery, reduce adverse events, improve nursing satisfaction, and at the same time, lower the incidence of adverse events in the PACU nursing process, providing a more refined management basis for clinical practice.