Focused Review of Enhanced Recovery After Abdominal Trauma Surgery in the Pediatric Population and Development of a Pediatric Enhanced Recovery After Trauma Surgery Pathway

BackgroundTraumatic injuries are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst pediatric patients; improving outcomes after pediatric abdominal trauma surgery could be quite impactful. Although enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways have been successfully employed in adult trauma patients, there are few studies on pediatric enhanced recovery after abdominal trauma surgery and no consensus post trauma surgery guidelines for children.Aims/MethodsA systematic search of the existing literature for pediatric enhanced recovery after trauma surgery pathways was performed by two independent authors. However, no pediatric enhanced recovery after trauma surgery pathways were found. Therefore, we reviewed the pediatric and adult enhanced recovery after trauma surgery literature to identify potential impactful elements of care that could be part of a pediatric pathway.ResultsThe existing literature supports the incorporation of several elements into pediatric trauma ERAS pathway.ConclusionWe propose a pediatric enhanced recovery after trauma surgery pathway, which highlights several principles of ERAS pathways (multimodal analgesia, goal-directed fluid therapy, early initiation of nutrition, timely administration of antibiotics, avoidance of hypothermia, DVT prophylaxis, the early removal of drains and indwelling catheters, and patient education).