Enhanced Recovery after Surgery in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty: A retrospective study

Objective: Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocol has been developed and practiced for various surgical procedures to improve outcomes in the postoperative period. We hereby present our experience of ERAS for a large cohort of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA).

Methods: We implemented the ERAS program at The Third Affiliated Hospital of Shanghai University from January 2020 and retrospectively compared outcomes of patients undergoing total knee or hip arthroplasty before and after the implementation of the program. ERAS protocol consisted of the use of patient education, blood management, multimodal analgesia, antiemetics, shorter fasting time, no patient-controlled analgesia, early physical therapy, and reduced use of catheters and drains.

Results: There were 94 patients in the study group (ERAS) and 113 patients in the control group (non-ERAS). We noted a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of postoperative nausea/vomiting, lowered pain scores, reduced length of hospital stay and better functional outcomes with both total knee and hip arthroplasties in our study cohort.

Conclusion: ERAS protocol can bae effectively implemented for patients undergoing TJA. The use of ERAS leads to better postoperative outcomes and shortened hospital stay.