SynthesisJournal of orthopaedic surgery and research2025
ERAS following spine surgery in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Early postoperative hypophosphatemia is an independent predictor of ileus after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Tailored postoperative bracing strategies following three distinct lumbar endoscopic discectomy: a propensity score-matched analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2026Article
- Elective Lumbar Decompression With Fusion Is Associated With Increased Mortality Compared With Decompression Alone: A National Propensity-Matched Analysis of Aging Cohorts.Global spine journal · 2026Article
- Minimally invasive versus open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for low grade lumbar spondylolisthesis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Spine deformity · 2026Review
- Correction: ERAS following spine surgery in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAs the global population ages, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have gained increasing importance for improving recovery, pain control, and reducing surgical morbidity. However, their impact on spinal surgery in the frail and elderly population remains limited.
objectiveTo compare clinical outcomes of ERAS versus conventional care in elderly patients undergoing spinal instrumentation, with included studies defining elderly as aged ≥ 60 or ≥ 65 years.
methodPubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane were systematically searched for studies comparing ERAS protocol with conventional care in elderly spinal surgery before June 2025. For dichotomous outcomes, pooled relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported; mean differences (MD) and 95%CIs for continuous outcomes. A random-effects meta-analysis model was used.
resultsTwelve observational studies involving 3184 patients were included. No significant difference in operative time [MD - 7.98 min (95%CI - 18.62, 2.66)] but estimated blood loss was significantly lowered with ERAS [MD - 22.79mL (95%CI - 34.10, - 11.48)]. ERAS was associated with shorter hospital stay [10.47 vs. 12.14 days; MD - 1.67 days (95%CI - 2.51, - 0.82)], earlier ambulation [1.73 vs. 2.50 days; MD - 0.77 days (95%CI - 1.20, - 0.33)], days to first void [1.61 vs. 2.28 days; MD - 0.67 days (95%CI - 1.34, - 0.00)] and first bowel movement [3.41 vs. 3.96 days; MD - 0.55 days (95%CI - 0.96, - 0.14)]. Overall complication rates were reduced [RR 0.67 (95%CI 0.54, 0.83)], particularly for surgical wound-related, gastrointestinal, urological and thromboembolic events. Pain outcomes were largely similar, but more ERAS patients achieved 90-day Minimum Clinically Important Difference (MCID) threshold for leg pain (VAS) and Disability (ODI) scores.
conclusionERAS in elderly spinal surgery appears safe and effective, but findings are limited by retrospective study design and risk of bias. Observed benefits included shorter hospital stays, faster functional recovery, fewer postoperative complications and readmissions. Potential improvements in patient-reported lower limb pain outcomes were also noted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.