Postoperative recovery: DrEaMing as a wake-up call?

Abstract

Enhanced recovery programmes reduce hospitalisation and medical complications across procedures, but unfortunately there have well-documented difficulties in implementation. Some recovery programmes include many components that hinder widespread implementation. The delivery of Drinking, Eating, and Mobilising (DrEaMing) bundle, with its focus on drinking, eating, and mobilising, may serve as a simple combined process, outcome measure, or both, thereby facilitating further progress in monitoring, auditing, implementation, and improvement of enhanced recovery programmes.

Keywords: anaesthesia; enhanced recovery; hospital length of stay; postoperative outcome; quality assessment; surgery; surgical outcome.