Eleven studies with 5,747 participants (range 36 to 2,047) were included. The number of ERAS components used ranged from four to 14. Three studies included no preoperative components. Median length of hospital stay was reported in nine studies and ranged from two to eight days. One multinational study reported that median length of stay ranged from seven to 11 days. Readmission rates ranged from 0 to 22% (eight studies).
The authors stated that in four studies there was an association between improved compliance and reduced length of hospital stay. However, the shortest length of stay was associated with the highest readmission rate. Results on compliance with different ERAS components were presented. It was unclear how compliance was measured. In general compliance was lowest during the postoperative period.
There were several discrepancies between text and tables in reporting the results.