Clinical outcomes of the very elderly undergoing enhanced recovery programmes in elective colorectal surgery

INTRODUCTION Enhanced recovery programmes (ERPs) have been shown to improve short-term outcomes after major colorectal surgery. Benefits of the ERP in patients who are very elderly (VE) are less well understood. We aimed to evaluate the role of the ERP in the VE population, which for the purpose of this study was defined as any patient aged 75 years or over. METHODS A prospectively compiled database was used to identify all patients aged >= 75 years who underwent elective colorectal resection in our unit between January 2011 and September 2012. These data were analysed to study the short-term outcomes in these patients and compared with those of patients aged <75 years. RESULTS Overall, 352 patients underwent elective surgery during this period; 106 were identified as VE. The median length of stay (LOS) in the VE group was 7 days (5 days in non-VE group; p=0.002). Two-thirds (62%) underwent laparoscopic surgery. The median LOS of VE patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery was 6 days (11 days for open surgery; p=0.003). A third (33%) of the VE cohort was discharged by day 5. Of these patients, 85% underwent laparoscopic surgery. There was no statistical difference in overall complication rates (VE vs non-VE). CONCLUSIONS Accepting that some VE patients may stay in hospital for longer, this study supports our current policy of including everyone in the ERP regardless of age. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery appear to benefit, with a shorter LOS. Further large scale trials are required to support the results of this study and to identify long-term outcomes.