A Prospective, Randomized Comparison of Multidisciplinary Recovery After Surgery Program and Conventional Protocol for Perioperative Care in Orthopedics and Traumatology

The protocol combines scientifically proven interventions to standardize medical care, improve treatment outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. The aim is to reduce surgical trauma and postoperative pain, reduce complications, shorten hospital treatment and improve postoperative recovery. Moreover, it has been shown that using standardized, patient oriented recovery protocol significantly improves the outcomes and quality of care, but also brings financial benefit for the hospital as well as for the health system in general. Studies about implementing multidisciplinary recovery protocol in orthopedic and traumatology are scarce. Orthopedic and traumatology surgeries are often followed by a long-lasting and demanding recovery characterized by the difficulties of everyday functioning. Recovery is therefore multidisciplinary: for example, it is necessary to monitor the nutritional status of a patient, decrease postoperative pain, monitor cognitive status, etc. Until now only a few publications of recovery protocols in orthopedics and traumatology have been published, mostly to improve the care of patients after elective surgical procedures. The goal of this protocol in orthopedics and traumatology is to improve the care of both urgent and elective patients using standardized, multi-professional care programs. It was created based on evidence-based practice and modified by multidisciplinary team of orthopedic and traumatology surgeons, anesthesiologists, physiatrist, physiotherapists, specialized medical nurses, nutritionists, and psychiatrists. It focuses on patient preoperative education, preoperative respiratory training, adequate nutritive and hemodynamic support, modified local and regional anesthesia protocol, prevention of postoperative pain, nausea and vomiting, and early postoperative delirium detection. The investigators postulate that the implementation of this program will reduce the rate of postoperative complications and the rate of rehospitalization, enhance the recovery after surgery and increase the satisfaction with the treatment.