EFFECTS OF ERAS PROTOCOLS ON PATIENT OUTCOMES IN CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY

September 8, 2026 updated by: Aynur Ülkü, Karabuk University

THE EFFECTS OF ERAS PROTOCOLS ON PATIENT OUTCOMES IN CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY

A randomized controlled experimental study has been conducted to determine the effects of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols on patient outcomes in the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol on postoperative recovery and patient outcomes in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. The study was conducted in the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic of Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital. A total of 50 patients who met the eligibility criteria were included in the study and randomly assigned to either the ERAS group (n=25) or the control group (n=25). Patients in the ERAS group received a comprehensive perioperative care program based on ERAS principles. The ERAS program included preoperative oral carbohydrate loading, multimodal analgesia, prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting, early extubation, respiratory exercises, coughing exercises, early mobilization, and other evidence-based perioperative interventions. Patients in the control group received routine perioperative care according to standard clinical practice. The primary outcomes included quality of recovery and postoperative clinical outcomes. Quality of recovery was assessed using the Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) questionnaire. Secondary outcomes included anxiety, pain intensity, nutritional risk, postoperative delirium, and cardiovascular surgery-related symptoms. Clinical recovery outcomes included time to extubation, duration of intensive care unit stay, duration of surgical drain use, time to urinary catheter removal, time to first bowel movement, time to first oral intake, and length of hospital stay. Patients were evaluated at multiple time points throughout the postoperative recovery process. Assessments were performed during the intensive care unit stay, after transfer to the surgical ward, at hospital discharge, and at one week and one month after discharge. These repeated assessments were used to evaluate changes in quality of recovery, anxiety, pain, cardiovascular surgery-related symptoms, and other patient outcomes over time. The study aimed to determine whether implementation of a comprehensive ERAS protocol could improve quality of recovery, reduce postoperative symptoms and anxiety, facilitate earlier recovery, shorten intensive care unit and hospital stays, and contribute to improved clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Bolu, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being admitted for their first planned coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery;
  • Undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery without the use of a cardiopulmonary bypass machine;
  • Not undergoing any additional surgical procedure during CABG surgery;
  • Having no abnormalities in preoperative laboratory parameters, including hemoglobin, albumin, and electrolytes;
  • Having no cognitive impairment;
  • Having no psychological or mental disorder;
  • Being able to speak Turkish and communicate effectively;
  • Being at least literate;
  • Being 18 years of age or older;
  • Being reachable by telephone during the follow-up period; and
  • Providing informed consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having previously undergone CABG surgery;
  • Undergoing CABG surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass with the heart arrested;
  • Undergoing any additional surgical procedure during CABG surgery;
  • Having electrolyte abnormalities in preoperative laboratory parameters;
  • Having cognitive impairment;
  • Having a psychological or mental disorder;
  • Being unable to speak Turkish, communicate effectively, or provide consent to participate in the study;
  • Being unable to read and write;
  • Being younger than 18 years of age;
  • Being unreachable by telephone during the follow-up period;
  • Withdrawing from the study after initially agreeing to participate;
  • Undergoing any surgical operation after hospital admission; or
  • Dying during the study intervention or follow-up period.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: ENHANCED RECOVERY AFTER SURGERY (ERAS) GROUP
Patients in the ERAS group received a multimodal enhanced recovery program covering the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods. Interventions included patient education and counseling, nutritional assessment and support when indicated, preoperative oral carbohydrate loading, appropriate fasting, and avoidance of mechanical bowel preparation. Intraoperative interventions included multimodal anesthesia, lung-protective ventilation, maintenance of normothermia, antimicrobial prophylaxis, blood conservation, and minimization of surgical drains. Postoperative care included early extubation, respiratory physiotherapy, incentive spirometry, coughing and leg exercises, early mobilization and oral intake, multimodal analgesia, thromboprophylaxis, glycemic control, wound care, delirium screening, and early removal of chest tubes and urinary catheters when clinically appropriate. Quality of recovery, anxiety, pain, and cardiovascular surgery-related symptoms were assessed during
Behavioral: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocol
A comprehensive 31-factor Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program was implemented throughout the perioperative period in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. The program included patient education and counseling, nutritional assessment, preoperative oral carbohydrate loading, appropriate fasting, avoidance of mechanical bowel preparation, multimodal anesthesia and analgesia, lung-protective ventilation, normothermia, antimicrobial prophylaxis, blood conservation, prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting, early extubation, respiratory physiotherapy, incentive spirometry, coughing and leg exercises, early mobilization and oral intake, thromboprophylaxis, glycemic control, systematic delirium screening, wound care, and early removal of chest tubes and urinary catheters when clinically appropriate. Quality of recovery, anxiety, pain, and cardiovascular surgery-related symptoms were assessed at predefined postoperative time points.
No Intervention: CONTROL GROUP
Patients in the control group received routine perioperative care according to standard clinical practice. No specific Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol was applied. Patients received standard preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care, including routine monitoring, pain management, respiratory care, mobilization, nutritional management, and other clinical interventions as indicated by the treating healthcare team. Patient outcomes were assessed at the same time points as in the ERAS group.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) Score
Time Frame: one month
The scale is a 5-point Likert-type scale, and the total score ranges from 40 to 200 based on the sum of all items. A higher total score indicates that the patients' emotional and physical well-being is at the expected and favorable level following surgery, whereas a lower score indicates that their well-being has been adversely affected. With a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.936, the questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing recovery following
one month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cardiac Surgery-Related Symptom Score
Time Frame: one month
The inventory is unidimensional and consists of 35 items. It is a Likert-type instrument, with each item scored from 0 to 4. The total score ranges from 0 to 140, with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity. The inventory has a total Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.961, and the total item correlations for all items are positive.
one month

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Score
Time Frame: 1 month
The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was developed to assess individuals' state and trait anxiety levels separately. The scale consists of two sections and 40 items. The first section, the State Anxiety Inventory, assesses how the individual feels at a particular moment, whereas the second section, the Trait Anxiety Inventory, assesses the individual's general feelings and anxiety tendency. Higher total anxiety scores indicate higher levels of anxiety. The scale has a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.76.
1 month
Postoperative Delirium
Time Frame: One month
The scale assesses eight domains: attention deficit, altered level of consciousness, hallucinations, psychosis, delusions, disorientation, psychomotor retardation or agitation, inappropriate affect or speech, sleep-wake cycle disturbance, and fluctuating course of symptoms. Negative findings are scored as 0, while positive findings are scored as 1. Patients with a total score of 4 or higher are considered to have delirium
One month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Karabuk University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Aynur Ülkü, Karabuk Universty

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 30, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 30, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • KarabukU-AUlku-1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant-level data will not be shared publicly due to patient privacy and confidentiality requirements. However, the aggregated results of the study will be reported and made available through scientific publication. No personally identifiable patient information will be included in the published results.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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