Abstract
BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery pathways or fast-tracking following surgery can decrease the rate of postoperative complications and hospital length of stay. The objectives of this study were to implement an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathway for patients undergoing a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy, to assess the safety and efficiency of this protocol by measuring associated postoperative outcomes, and to compare the outcomes for patients in the ERAS group with the outcomes for patients in a propensity-matched control group. METHODS: The study was a prospective clinical trial. Patients who were scheduled to undergo VATS lobectomy at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, were enrolled between November 2015 and October 2016. The ERAS pathway was used for all enrolled patients. The primary outcome was the number and severity of complications measured by the Comprehensive Complication Index. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, readmission and recovery. Recovery of patients was measured using EQ-5D-5L preoperatively and at 1 week, 1 month and 4 months after surgery. Prospectively enrolled patients were propensity matched to historical controls. RESULTS: Ninety-eight patients (36 men and 62 women) in the ERAS group and 98 patients in the control group (29 men and 69 women) were included in the analysis. The mean age was 65.2 ± 9.3 years, the mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.9 ± 5.9 kg/m2 and the median Charlson Comorbidity Index score was 2 (interquartile range [IQR] 2-3) in the ERAS group. In the control group, the mean age was 66.2 ± 9.4 years, the mean BMI was 27.4 ± 5.6 kg/m2 and the median Charlson Comorbidity Index score was 3 (IQR 2-3). A total of 23 patients (23.4%) in the ERAS group and 28 (28.6%) in the control group experienced 1 or more postoperative complications. The mean Comprehensive Complication Index score was 7.4 ± 16.8 in the ERAS group compared with 8.0 ± 14.3 in the control group (p = 0.79). The median postoperative length of stay was 3 days in the ERAS group and 5 days in the control group (p < 0.001). Five patients in the ERAS group and 4 patients in the control group were readmitted. The protocol adherence rate was 64.3%. CONCLUSION: It is feasible to implement an enhanced recovery protocol after VATS lobectomy. Although the pathway is still early in its development in Canada, implementation of an ERAS pathway after VATS lobectomy was associated with decreased length of stay, with no observable increase in complication or readmission rates.