Implementing Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for hysterectomy in a hospital network with audit and feedback: A stepped‐wedge cluster randomised trial

Authors:
  • FGfor the ERAS‐Gyneco Piemonte Group
    for the ERAS‐Gyneco Piemonte Group
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Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of implementing the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol in patients undergoing elective hysterectomy in a network of regional hospitals, supported by an intensive audit‐and‐feedback (A&F) approach.Design: A multi‐centre, stepped‐wedge cluster randomised trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04063072).Setting: Gynaecological units in the Piemonte region, Italy.Population: Patients undergoing elective hysterectomy, either for cancer or for benign conditions.Methods: Twenty‐three units (clusters), stratified by surgical volume, were randomised into four sequences. At baseline (first 3 months), standard care was continued in all units. Subsequently, the four sequences implemented the ERAS protocol successively every 3 months, after specific training. By the end of the study, each unit had a period in which standard care was maintained (control) and a period in which the protocol, supported by feedback, was applied (experimental).Main outcome measures: Length of hospital stay (LOS), without outliers (>98th percentile).Results: Between September 2019 and May 2021, 2086 patients were included in the main analysis with an intention‐to‐treat approach: 1104 (53%) in the control period and 982 (47%) in the ERAS period. Compliance with the ERAS protocol increased from 60% in the control period to 76% in the experimental period, with an adjusted absolute difference of +13.3% (95% CI 11.6% to 15.0%). LOS, moving from 3.5 to 3.2 days, did not show a significant reduction (−0.12 days; 95% CI −0.30 to 0.07 days). No difference was observed in the occurrence of complications.Conclusions: Implementation of the ERAS protocol for hysterectomy at the regional level, supported by an A&F approach, resulted in a substantial improvement in compliance, but without meaningful effects on LOS and complications. This study confirms the effectiveness of A&F in promoting important innovations in an entire hospital network and suggests the need of a higher compliance with the ERAS protocol to obtain valuable improvements in clinical outcomes.
Funding Information
  • Ministero della Salute (NET‐2016‐02364191)
  • Regione Piemonte (521‐A14000)

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