Consensus review of optimal perioperative care in colorectal surgery: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Group recommendations.

OBJECTIVES: To describe a consensus review of optimal perioperative care in colorectal surgery and to provide consensus recommendations for each item of an evidence-based protocol for optimal perioperative care.

DATA SOURCES: For every item of the perioperative treatment pathway, available English-language literature has been examined.

STUDY SELECTION: Particular attention was paid to meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and systematic reviews.

DATA EXTRACTION: A consensus recommendation for each protocol item was reached after critical appraisal of the literature by the group.

DATA SYNTHESIS: For most protocol items, recommendations are based on good-quality trials or meta-analyses of such trials.

CONCLUSIONS: The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Group presents a comprehensive evidence-based consensus review of perioperative care for colorectal surgery. It is based on the evidence available for each element of the multimodal perioperative care pathway.