The Canadian Gynecologic Oncology Peri-operative Management Survey: re-examining Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) recommendations

ObjectiveEnhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a global surgery quality improvement program associated with improved clinical outcomes across the spectrum of disciplines, including gynecologic oncology. The objective of this study was to re-survey the practice of ERAS Gynecologic Oncology guidelines across Canada, after the initial guidelines publication (2016), subsequent guidelines update (2019), and Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada (GOC) education events.MethodsA survey was created and developed through the GOC Communities of Practice ERAS section and distributed to all members between March and November 2021. The results of this survey were compared with the survey performed in 2015ResultsThe initial GOC survey in 2015 included 77/92 active gynecologic oncologists (84%) representing all provinces in Canada. The current updated survey had responses from 59/118 active gynecologic oncologists (51%) also from every province. Compared with the original survey there was a statistically significant improvement in uptake of 10 ERAS recommendations: smoking/alcohol cessation, modern fasting guidelines (allowance of clear fluids and solid food pre-operatively), carbohydrate loading, pre-operative warming, early feeding, post-operative laxative use, avoidance of nasogastric tubes and abdominal drains, foley catheter removal at 6 hours, and active mobilization (all pConclusionsThis survey demonstrates increased uptake of 10 of the ERAS guideline recommendations among Canadian gynecologic oncology providers. These findings may translate to improvements in clinical outcomes and healthcare system-level benefits including increased hospital capacity and cost savings.