Translation of guidelines for perioperative care in gynecologic/oncology: enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) society recommendations-2019 update

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is now firmly established as a global surgical quality improvement initiative that results in both clinical improvements and cost benefits to the healthcare system. ERAS guidelines are based on the highest quality evidence available and as such require updating on a regular basis. The ERAS Gynecologic/Oncology guidelines were first published in February 2016. This is the first updated Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Society guideline presenting a consensus for optimal perioperative care in gynecologic/oncology surgery.1,2

Starting from the original ERAS Gynecologic/Oncology guidelines, the first author and senior authors identified topics for inclusion. International authors known for their expertise in gynecologic/oncology perioperative care were invited to participate in the guideline update. A database search of publications using Embase and PubMed was performed. Studies on each item within the ERAS gynecologic/oncology protocol were selected with an emphasis on meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and large prospective cohort studies. These studies were then reviewed and graded according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system,3 whereby recommendations are given as follows: Strong recommendations: The panel is confident that the desirable effects of adherence to a recommendation outweigh the undesirable effects, weak recommendations: The desirable effects of adherence to a recommendation probably outweigh the undesirable effects, but the panel is less confident.

The evidence base, recommendations, evidence level, and recommendation grade are provided for each individual ERAS item below. The table 1 shows all the ERAS items with emphasis on changes for the 2019 guideline update. The (Table 2) shows items: (pre-operative optimization, pre-anesthetic medication, nausea and vomiting prophylaxis, urinary drainage, and early mobilization). These items not updated in 2019 guideline (no change in recommendation/evidence. All recommendations on ERAS protocol items are based on the best available evidence. The level of evidence for each item is presented accordingly.

The updated evidence base and recommendation for items within the ERAS gynecologic/oncology perioperative care pathway are presented by the ERAS® Society in this consensus review.