Results of a Multimodal Rehabilitation programme in bariatric surgery versus the classic care protocol

Abstract Introduction: Obesity is a very frequent pathology in our society. Weight gain and its associated comorbidities constitute a major cause of preventable deaths. Bariatric surgery is considered the most effective treatment for reducing weight and comorbidities in obese patients. ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) programmes are a set of perioperative practices aimed at reducing the metabolic and immune response triggered by surgical stress, to improve the results of the intervention and achieve a speedy recovery of the patient. Their implementation in bariatric surgery has been slow, since obese patients constitute a high-risk surgical group. Objective: To determine whether the application of an ERAS protocol in bariatric surgery leads to a reduction in hospital stay, as well as in the complications associated with the procedure. Material and methods: A prospective case-control study was performed including 52 patients undergoing bariatric surgery: 25 following the classic protocol and 27 following the ERAS protocol. Results were analysed using the bilateral hypothesis. Statistical significance of the difference was considered from p-values less than 0.05. Confidence intervals included were 95%. Results: There was a reduction in hospital stay (- 0.76 days, p=0.002579), minor complications (48% less), postoperative nausea and vomiting rate (p=0.00029) and postoperative pain (p=1.36e-05) in those patients who followed the ERAS protocol. Conclusions: The implementation of the ERAS protocol reduces hospital stay, without compromising patient safety by not increasing morbidity.