Loading…

'Fast-track' colonic surgery in Austria and Germany - results from the survey on patterns in current perioperative practice

Objective  ‘Fast‐track’ rehabilitation has been shown to accelerate recovery, reduce general morbidity and decrease hospital stay after elective colonic surgery. Despite this evidence, there is no information on the acceptance and utilization of these concepts among the entirety of Austrian and Germ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Colorectal disease 2009-02, Vol.11 (2), p.162-167
Main Authors: Hasenberg, T., Keese, M., Längle, F., Reibenwein, B., Schindler, K., Herold, A., Beck, G., Post, S., Jauch, K. W., Spies, C., Schwenk, W., Shang, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective  ‘Fast‐track’ rehabilitation has been shown to accelerate recovery, reduce general morbidity and decrease hospital stay after elective colonic surgery. Despite this evidence, there is no information on the acceptance and utilization of these concepts among the entirety of Austrian and German surgeons. Method  In 2006, a questionnaire concerning perioperative routines in elective, open colonic resection was sent to the chief surgeons of 1270 German and 120 Austrian surgical centres. Results  The response rate was 63% in Austria (76 centres) and 30% in Germany (385 centres). Mechanical bowel preparation is used by the majority (Austria, 91%; Germany, 94%); the vertical incision is the standard method of approach to the abdomen in Austria (79%) and Germany (83%), nasogastric decompression tubes are rarely used, one‐third of the questioned surgeons in both countries use intra‐abdominal drains. Half of the surgical centres allow the intake of clear fluids on the day of surgery and one‐fifth offer solid food on that day. Epidural analgesia is used in three‐fourths of the institutions. Conclusion  Although there is an evident benefit of fast‐track management, the survey shows that they are not yet widely used as a routine in Austria and Germany.
ISSN:1462-8910
1463-1318
DOI:10.1111/j.1463-1318.2008.01559.x