Abstract
BACKGROUND: To collect data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effects of enhanced recovery after surgery on postoperative recovery of elderly patients who underwent hip or knee arthroplasty. METHODS: The search was limited to studies published prior to January 1, 2023, in the electronic databases of Cochrane, Embase, Ovid Medline, Proquest, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Chinese databases, including China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) and SinoMed. All relevant data were collected from the studies that met the inclusion criteria. The outcome variables were recovery of joint function and incidence of complications. STATA software (version 14.0) was used for the meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 44 published studies met the inclusion criteria. The cumulative data included 2203 cases receiving enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), and 2173 cases receiving traditional recovery after surgery (non-ERAS). The meta-analysis showed that the VAS score was significantly lower in the ERAS group than in the non-ERAS group (P < .01), and there were fewer incidences of complications in the ERAS group than in the control group (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: ERAS significantly reduced pain and the incidence of complications in elderly patients who had undergone joint replacement surgery.