Eligibility criteria for ambulatory colectomy

•The eligibility criteria for ambulatory colectomy need to be specified.•Age is the first factor to take into account, followed by the operative indication in a patient under 65 years of age, and diabetes in a patient over 65 years of age.•The best indication is sigmoidectomy for diverticulosis in a patient under 65 years of age.•Ambulatory colectomy must not be proposed to diabetic patients over 65 years of age.•Non-diabetic patients over 65 years of age, and patients under 65 years of age operated for an indication other than sigmoidectomy for diverticulosis, may be eligible in centers with established ERAS expertise. To determine the statistical indicators aimed at identifying patients for whom ambulatory colectomy could be proposed without additional risk. The medical charts of patients who benefited from scheduled colonic or rectal resection during conventional hospitalization stays between 2018 and 2019 were reviewed. Eligibility for ambulatory colectomy was defined by hospital stay≤4 days and absence of any postoperative complication. Patient characteristics were compared, and the results were modeled in the form of a decision-making tree. The effect of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol for each sub-group was calculated. One hundred and ten (110) patients were selected (41 “eligible” and 69 “non-eligible”). Median age was 73 years (27–95). Nearly 80% of the patients were operated for cancer. In multivariate analysis, age (≥65 years, OR=3.15, CI95%=1.22–8.12), diabetes (OR=3.91, CI95%=1.03–14.8) and indication (sigmoidectomy for diverticulosis, OR=0.21, CI=95%=0.05–0.9) were the only identified independent variables. Likelihood for ambulatory eligibility was 83.3% (