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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Surg.
Sec. Orthopedic Surgery
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2025.1519135
This article is part of the Research Topic Minimally Invasive Treatments for Lumbar Spine Disorders View all articles

Evaluating the Role of Nursing Interventions in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery: A Retrospective Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Dan Zhang Dan Zhang Hongmei Ding Hongmei Ding Caiping Shen Caiping Shen Yanyan Liu Yanyan Liu Nan Jia Nan Jia *
  • The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Clinical Research Academy of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have revolutionized postoperative care, particularly in minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). This study aims to evaluate the role of nursing interventions in improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs within this framework. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated 150 patients undergoing MISS at The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2017 to December 2021. Of these, 75 were assigned to the conventional group and 75 to the ERAS group. The study compared conventional nursing care with the ERAS protocol, assessing clinical outcomes and hospital expenses.The analysis revealed that implementing targeted nursing interventions significantly decreased the length of hospital stay (LOS) in the ERAS group compared to the conventional group (3.2 days vs. 4 days; p < 0.001). Moreover, the multivariate analysis demonstrated that the patients in the the conventional group had significantly higher odds of prolonged length of stay (LOS) as compared to the ERAS group (OR: 5.114; 95% CI: 2.345-11.152, p <0.001).Furthermore, postoperative drainage volumes were markedly lower in the ERAS group than in the conventional cohort (p < 0.001). Opioid consumption was also reduced, with only 24% of patients in the ERAS group requiring opioids, compared to 45.3% in the conventional care group (p = 0.01). Additionally, the ERAS protocol resulted in lower overall hospital expenses, highlighting its cost-effectiveness in enhancing patient outcomes.The implementation of targeted nursing interventions within the ERAS protocol significantly improves patient outcomes in MISS. The ERAS group demonstrated shorter hospital stays, reduced postoperative drainage, and lower opioid requirements compared to the conventional care group. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of the ERAS protocol highlights its potential to enhance overall healthcare efficiency.

    Keywords: Enhanced recovery after surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, Spine surgery, Pain Management, Nursing interventions

    Received: 29 Oct 2024; Accepted: 04 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Ding, Shen, Liu and Jia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nan Jia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangdong Clinical Research Academy of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.