NR 449 Week 5 RUA_Analyzing Published Research

2 protocol, a standardized, multidisciplinary approach to perioperative care, is a successful strategy for achieving these goals (Madan et al., 2023). This paper interprets and critically analyzes two primary research articles, Madan et al. (2023) and Lu et al. (2020), to synthesize the current evidence base and support the broad application of ERAS in clinical practice. Problem The group's focus is to address persistent challenges associated with traditional surgical care models, specifically minimizing postoperative morbidity and reducing hospital stay following major elective procedures. Traditional models result in extended Length of Stay (LOS), increased gastrointestinal complications, and poorly managed symptoms like pain and Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) (Lu et al., 2020). Literature confirms that up to 20% of surgical patients face morbidity due to delayed ambulation and prolonged fasting (Madan et al., 2023). Extended LOS correlates with higher costs and increased exposure to hospital- acquired conditions, making ERAS implementation essential for quality improvement. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the variables, methods, and results of two high- level research studies on ERAS to establish a unified evidence base for its use across diverse surgical fields. Synthesis of the Literature The following sections detail the findings from the Evidence Matrix Table (Appendix A) to provide a comparative analysis of the two selected studies. Variables 4 The participant demographics confirm ERAS’s broad applicability. Madan et al. (2023) enrolled N=108 patients undergoing elective stoma reversal surgery, requiring rapid GI function restoration. Lu et al. (2020) enrolled N=105 patients undergoing infratentorial craniotomy for tumour resection, a highly specialized neurosurgical group. The success of ERAS in both a general surgery and a high-acuity neurosurgical setting provides strong evidence for its generalizability across the surgical spectrum. Instruments Both studies used reliable and valid instruments for quantitative outcomes. Madan et al. (2023) utilized objective clinical milestones, including Hospital Length of Stay (LOS) and time to first flatus and first defecation, tracked via nursing records. For subjective outcomes, Lu et al. (2020) used validated tools: a structured questionnaire to track PONV incidence and severity over 48 hours, and the universally accepted Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for quantifying pain intensity. Implications for Future Work The research findings decisively support the effectiveness of the ERAS protocol, validating the solution to the clinical problem. Both studies showed significant reductions in recovery variables: LOS was reduced from 5 days to 3 days in GI surgery (p