Cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia
From fast track to enhanced recovery after Cardiac surgery: 15 years of experience with the Leipzig concept in a specialized post-anesthesia care unit
Authors' conclusion
This study presents the largest collection of consecutive ERACS patients ever collected and demonstrates the safety and efficacy of ERACS management with a specialized PACU, highlighting the benefits of continuous protocol optimization.
Study context
- Population
- Patients admitted to a specialized postanaesthesia care unit (PACU) after cardiac surgery and managed per Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery (ERACS) protocol, Heart Center Leipzig, November 2005–December 202020,773 analysed
- Participants
- 23,724 patients
- Outcome
- ERACS utilization in PACU after cardiac surgery and in-hospital mortality over time
- Follow-up
- 2006 to 2020
Methodological detailssingle-centre, multivariable-adjusted
- Single-centre
- Multivariable-adjusted
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
ERACS PACU utilization in 2006
19%
ERACS PACU utilization in 2020
60%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| In-hospital mortality, sufentanil vs remifentanilSignificantly lower with sufentanil | P = 0.005 |
In-hospital mortality (subgroups)
- Higher with EuroSCORE II ≥6%
- P < 0.001
- Higher with complex procedures
- P = 0.04
- Higher with age ≥ 75 years
- P < 0.001
Original publication
From fast track to enhanced recovery after Cardiac surgery: 15 years of experience with the Leipzig concept in a specialized post-anesthesia care unit. J Clin Anesth. Published 4 February 2026. doi:10.
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