Adapted ERAS Pathway Versus Standard Care in Patients Undergoing Emergency Surgery for Perforation Peritonitis—a Randomized Controlled Trial

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathways have an uncertain role in emergencies. To the best of our knowledge, there are no trials studying ERAS in perforation peritonitis across the GI tract, despite it being a common surgical emergency.To evaluate the safety, feasibility and efficacy of adapted ERAS protocols in emergency laparotomy for perforation peritonitis.This was an open-labeled, superiority randomized controlled trial conducted between October 2018 and June 2020 in patients with perforation peritonitis assigned to standard care or adapted ERAS groups using block randomization. Patients with refractory shock, ASA class 4E, localized peritonitis, etc. were excluded. Components of the adapted ERAS protocol included epidural analgesia, goal-directed fluid therapy, avoidance of opioids, early mobilization, early removal of tubes, drains and catheters, and early enteral feeding. The primary outcome, length of hospitalization (LOH), and the secondary outcomes, functional recovery parameters, were analyzed between both the groups.A total of 59 patients in standard care group and 61 patients in adapted ERAS group were included and randomized, and were comparable in terms of demographic and clinico-pathological characteristics. LOH in adapted ERAS group was shorter by 3 days (p < 0.001), and patients showed reduction in time (days) to first flatus (2.84 vs 4.22, p < 0.001), first stool (4.38 vs 6.08, p < 0.001) and solid diet (4.67 vs 8.37, p < 0.001). Post-operative nausea, vomiting (p = 0.05) and surgical site infections (p < 0.001) were reduced in adapted ERAS group. Pre-existing malignancy, respiratory complications and high output stoma were reasons for delayed discharge in adapted ERAS group.Adapted ERAS pathways considerably reduce LOH in patients undergoing emergency surgery for perforation peritonitis, with no adverse events in 30 days after discharge.Registered at http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/login.php (CTRI/2019/02/017537).