Development of and adherence to an ERAS® and prehabilitation protocol for patients undergoing pancreatic surgery: An observational study

Background and objective: There are still gaps in knowledge concerning the adherence to different multimodal pathways in pancreatic surgery. The aim of this trial was to explore and evaluate an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) and prehabilitation protocol in patients undergoing open pancreatic surgery. Methods: Three groups of patients were included: two prospective series of 75 patients undergoing open pancreatic surgery following an ERAS® protocol with or without prehabilitation, and one group of 55 historical controls. Variables regarding adherence to, and effects of the protocols, were collected from the local database and the patients’ hospital records. Patients’ adherence to advice given pre-operatively was followed up using a study-specific questionnaire. Results: The patients reported high adherence to remembered advice given. The health care professionals’ adherence to the various parts of the concepts varied. ERAS® implementation resulted in more frequent gut motility stimulation (p