Does enhanced recovery after surgery programs improve clinical outcomes in liver cancer surgery?

Enhanced recovery after surgery(ERAS)programs have been widely applied in liver surgery since the publication of the first ERAS guidelines in 2016 and the new recommendations in 2022.Liver surgery is usually performed in oncological patients(liver metastasis,hepatocellular carcinoma,cholangiocarcinoma,etc.),but the real impact of liver surgery ERAS programs in oncological outcomes is not clearly defined.Theoretical advantages of ERAS programs are:ERAS decreases postoperative complication rates and has been demonstrated a clear relationship between complications and oncological outcomes;a better and faster posto-perative recovery should let oncologic teams begin chemotherapeutic regimens on time;prehabilitation and nutrition actions before surgery should also improve the performance status of the patients receiving chemotherapy.So,ERAS could be another way to improve our oncological results.We will discuss the literature about liver surgery ERAS focusing on its oncological implications and future investigations projects.

Compliance with enhanced recovery after surgery predicts long-term outcome after hepatectomy for cholangiocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Enhanced recovery after surgery(ERAS)program has been proved to improve postoperative outcome for many surgical procedures,including liver resection.There was limited evidence regarding the feasibility and benefit of ERAS in patients who underwent liver resection for cholangiocarcinoma.AIM To evaluate the feasibility of ERAS in patients who underwent liver resection for cholangiocarcinoma and its association with patient outcomes.METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 116 cholangiocarcinoma patients who underwent hepatectomy at Srinagarind Hospital,Khon Kaen University between January 2015 and December 2016.The primary outcome was the compliance with ERAS.To determine the association between ERAS compliance and patient outcomes.the patients were categorized into those adhering more than and equal to 50%(ERAS≥50),and below 50%(ERAS<50)of all components.Details on type of surgical procedure,preoperative and postoperative care,tumor location,postoperative laboratory results,and survival time were evaluated.The compliance with ERAS was measured by the percentage of ERAS items achieved.The Kaplan-Meier curve was used for survival analysis.RESULTS The median percentage of ERAS goals achieved was 40%(±12%).Fourteen patients(12.1%)were categorized into the ERAS≥50 group,and 102 patients were in the ERAS<50 group.Postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the ERAS≥50 group[8.9 d,95%confidence interval(CI):7.3-10.4 d]than in the ERAS<50 group(13.7 d,95%CI:12.2-15.2 d)(P=0.0217).No hepatobiliary-related complications or in-hospital mortality occurred in the ERAS≥50 group.Overall survival was significantly higher in the ERAS≥50 group.The median survival of the patients in the ERAS<50 group was 1257 d(95%CI:853.2-1660.8 d),whereas that of the patients in the ERAS≥50 group was not reached.CONCLUSION Overall ERAS compliance for patients who underwent liver resection for cholangiocarcinoma is poor.Greater ERAS compliance could predict in-hospital,short-term,and long-term outcomes of the patients.