Patients Older Than 75 Years Undergoing Polysegmental Lumbar Fusion Surgery Can also Benefit from Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Program

Abstract

Purpose

To compare pain scores (visual analog scale) on postoperative days 1–3 and length of stay after implementing enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in elderly patients undergoing multi-segments lumbar fusion surgery.

Methods

We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, patients older than 75 years were enrolled in the study. We selected two periods, before (Pre-ERAS, n =54 patients) and after (ERAS, n =46 patients) implementation of ERAS. Data were collected on patient demographics, operative and perioperative details, 30-day readmission. The primary outcome was the length of stay (LOS), and the secondary outcomes were postoperative mean pain scores on postoperative days (POD) 1–3 and 30-day readmission rates.

Results

A total of 100 patients (46 in ERAS and 54 in pre-ERAS) were enrolled in this study. There were no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking and comorbidities between the groups. However, there was a significant difference in pain on postoperative day (POD) 1 (5.31 ± 1.98 vs 4.37 ± 0.85, p = 0.002), while there was no difference in postoperative complications. The mean LOS was significantly shorter in the ERAS than in the pre-ERAS group, it reduced from 12.29 ± 3.93 to 9.45 ± 2.72 days (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

To our knowledge, this is the first ERAS protocol used in patients (older than 75 years) undergoing polysegmental lumbar fusion surgery. Pain scores on POD 1 and LOS were significantly lower without increased adverse events after implementation of ERAS. This finding suggests that elderly people (>75 years of age) undergoing polysegmental lumbar fusion surgery could also benefit from ERAS.

Keywords:

• enhanced recovery after surgery
• elderly
• multi-segment
• lumbar fusion surgery

Data Sharing Statement

The data used to support the findings of this study were included within the article.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The study protocol was approved by the ethics review board of Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University. We have obtained written informed consent from all study participants. All of the procedures were performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant policies in China.

Acknowledgments

We thank the staff at the Department of Orthopedics, Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, and all the patients who participated in the study.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Beijing Municipal Health Commission (Jing 2019–2).