Efficacy of the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol in robotic colorectal surgery patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
摘要
This study systematically determined the role of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol in patients undergoing robotic colorectal surgery. To identify relevant studies, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Wanfang Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were thoroughly searched, covering the records available up to December 2025. The primary outcomes assessed were hospital length of stay, time to first flatus, reoperation rate, and overall postoperative complication incidence; secondary outcomes included anastomotic leak rate and postoperative intra-abdominal infection rate. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool version 2.0 was utilized for assessing methodological quality. Quantitative synthesis was conducted with Review Manager version 5.4. Six randomized controlled trials, encompassing 1422 patients, met the inclusion criteria. Among these patients, 613 patients received ERAS-based care, and 809 patients were managed with conventional perioperative protocols. Pooled analyses revealed an association of ERAS-based care with a shorter hospitalization duration and earlier postoperative bowel function recovery. Additionally, ERAS group patients had lower rates of overall postoperative complications and anastomotic leak. In contrast, the ERAS-based care and standard care groups did not differ considerably in reoperation rates and postoperative intra-abdominal infection rates. Taken together, these findings suggest that ERAS protocol application is feasible and safe in patients receiving robotic colorectal surgery, offering benefits in terms of accelerated recovery without increasing the risk of adverse postoperative outcomes.