Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Pathway in Patients Undergoing Open Radical Cystectomy Is Safe and Accelerates Bowel Function Recovery.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery pathway was associated with a faster bowel function recovery and no increase in morbidity compared with standard perioperative care in a contemporary series of patients undergoing radical cystectomy.

METHODS: A prospective single-center single-surgeon cohort of 114 consecutive patients treated with open radical cystectomy between July 2013 and June 2016 was analyzed. A study group of 74 patients with Enhanced Recovery After Surgery pathway was compared with a control group of 40 patients with standard perioperative care. Primary outcome was recovery of bowel function, measured by resumption of bowel sounds, passage of flatus, and passage of stool. Secondary outcome was rate of overall and major 90-day postoperative complications.

RESULTS: Bowel function recovery was significantly faster in the study group. Resumption of bowel sounds on postoperative day 1 was recorded in 43 (58%) vs 4 (10%) patients, passage of flatus within postoperative day 2 in 41 (55%) vs 11 (28%) patients, and passage of stool within postoperative day 3 in 37 (50%) vs no patients in the study vs control group, respectively (P < .01 for all). Overall and major 90-day complications were observed in 35 (47.3%) and 13 (17.6%) patients in the study group, and in 25 (62.5%) and 9 (22.5%) patients in the control group (P = .14 and 0.38, respectively).

CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing open radical cystectomy, an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery pathway allowed a significantly faster bowel function recovery with no increase in 90-day postoperative complications compared with standard perioperative care.