Rapid recovery programmes for hip and knee arthroplasty. An update.

Fast-track surgery, or enhanced recovery, has appeared in the last 20 years or so as a combination of the optimisation of clinical protocols and organisational processes, pursuing the reduction in surgical stress with the aim of reducing peri-operative comorbidities, convalescence time, and functional recovery, resulting in a reduction in admission time. After a review of the European literature available on this subject, this article attempts to present an update. It highlights its interest and origins, basically being set out as a response to the question: 'Why is this patient in Hospital today?' It also attempts to summarise the essence of such programmes: the search for immediate post-surgical mobilisation, being supported in a multidisciplinary approach. This includes a multimodal intervention and analgesia, a limitation in the use of opiates, and the active participation by the patients in their own recovery. Furthermore, mention is made of the initiatives by European State organisation as a boost to enhanced recovery programmes in their respective countries, as is the case in Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom. The clinical outcomes published up to September 2015 have been reviewed. A subsequent decrease in mean hospital stay is observed in 11 studies, achieving patient satisfaction, low complication rates, a reduction in the transfusion rates, and with no apparent increase in re-admissions. Mention is also made of the financial consequences, and how to implement these protocols. As a conclusion, an analysis is made of the future challenges fast-track surgery, such as the possibility of moving towards outpatient surgery, or the obtaining of a surgery 'with no risk or pain' in general, for which there are other still open lines of work.