ENhanced Recovery In CHildren Undergoing Surgery (ENRICH-US) for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study – Baseline Implementation Assessment

For patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), surgery represents a major life event with inherent risks spanning from complications related to the procedures to time away from school and normal activity. Almost one third of patients with Crohn’s disease and a quarter of patients with Ulcerative Colitis present when they are younger than 20 years, with the majority undergoing surgery as youth or young adults. Perioperative Enhanced Recovery Protocols (ERPs) are evidence-based interventions that include patient-engagement and education, non-narcotic based pain management, and shorter fasting periods. Over the past several years, ERPs have been developed among adult surgical populations. Though individual components of ERPs are simple, the concurrent use of these integrative healthcare interventions results in a markedly improved patient care experience that minimizes the physiologic stress of surgery and hastens recovery. These ERPs have been found to decrease hospital length of stay, in-hospital costs, complications, and help IBD patients recover sooner after surgery. Unfortunately, data in pediatric populations are lacking. To address this need, we have designed a multicenter, prospective study entitled ENhanced Recovery In CHildren Undergoing Surgery (ENRICH-US) for IBD. To successfully conduct the anticipated ENRICH-US for IBD study, we need to first assess the baseline use of ERPs at each of the 15 participating centers. Baseline assessment will lay the foundation for future study of outcomes that matter to our IBD patients such reduced length of stay and costs with implementation of ERPs. Furthermore, we must develop an ERP toolkit to disseminate and implement the ENRICH-US intervention that is designed with critical input from surgeons, gastroenterologists, anesthesiologists, nurses, as well as patients and families. This ERP toolkit will include a curriculum, instruction manual, data collection tool, and educational materials for patients and providers.