Investigation of enhanced recovery after surgery in perioperative period of advanced gastric cancer

Objective To investigate the feasibility and safety of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Methods In this study, one hundred and twenty-eight patients with gastric cancer were enrolled between January 2014 and October 2015 and randomly divided into the traditional group (60 cases) and the ERAS group (68 cases). The amount of blood loss, operation time, postoperative hospital stay, the first exhaust time, average feeding time, complications and hospitalization expenses were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Results Bleeding volume in traditional group and ERAS group was (180±26.3) ml vs (175±30.0) ml, operation time was (145±23.3) min vs (151±26.1) min, respectively, with no statistically significant difference. In ERAS group, the average time of bowel exhaust, feeding, bed-off, drainage, length of stay and hospitalization expenses were less than those of the traditional group (P< 0.01). There was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups. Conclusions ERAS works positively in decreasing the hospitalization time and expenses for patients undergoing gastric operations, without raising postoperative complications. It is feasible and safe for ERAS’s application in upper gastrointestinal surgery, but still needs further large sample prospective clinical trials. Key words: Stomach neoplasms; Enhanced recovery after surgery; Perioperative care; Postoperative complications