Evaluation of Elective Cesarean Surgery within the Scope of Enhanced Recovery After Cesarean (ERAS-CD) Protocol: Where we are in Türkiye

Introduction: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the perioperative practices according to the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery-Cesarean Delivery (ERAS-CD) protocol in women who underwent elective cesarean section.
Methods: The sample of the descriptive study consisted of 333 women who underwent elective cesarean section (CS) surgery between 01/12/2021 and 01/09/2022. A nurse observation form, anesthesia follow-up form, patient file and verbal expressions of women were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics (number, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and linear regression analysis used.
Results: The mean gestational week of the study group was 38.38±0.76, and cesarean indication was 58.9% had repeat and 38.7% multiple repeat CS. It was determined that all participants were informed about the perioperative procedure, given antibiotic prophylaxis, given intravenous fluids, and had skin cleansing. Analgesics were administered to almost all of the research group. All participants were informed about discharge. The initiating breastfeeding time was 88.38±35.11 minutes. Mobilization took place at mean of 6.21±0.67 hours, oral feeding was initiated at 6.22±0.63 hours, and the mean length of hospital stay was 51.02±8.53 hours. Factors affecting the time to initiate oral feeding and the time to initiate breastfeeding and length of hospital stay were the mobilization time (p<0.001), the need for analgesic medication at the time (p<0.05) and the application of drains, respectively (p<0.001).
Discussion and Conclusion: While the accelerated surgical recovery protocol was generally applied in our study, it was observed that the preoperative fasting time, the postoperative first oral intake time and the initiating breastfeeding time were long.

Keywords: Cesarean section; Enhanced recovery after surgery; Intraoperative; Postoperative; Preoperative