Enhanced Recovery Pathway for Urgent Colectomy

Background Enhanced recovery protocols have been proven to decrease complications and hospital stay following elective colorectal surgery. However, these principles have not yet been reported for urgent surgery procedures. We aimed to assess our initial experience with urgent colectomies performed within an established enhanced recovery pathway. Methods In a prospective cohort study, all patients undergoing colonic resection between April 2012 and March 2013 were treated according to a standardized enhanced recovery protocol. Urgent surgeries were compared with the elective procedures with regards to baseline characteristics, compliance with enhanced recovery items, and clinical outcome. Results Patients ( N = 28) requiring urgent colonic resection were included and compared with patients undergoing elective colectomy ( N = 63). Overall compliance with the protocol was 57 % for the urgent compared with 77 % for the elective procedures ( p = 0.006). The pre-operative compliance was 64 versus 96 % ( p