BUEA, Cameroon — A 25-year-old doctoral student (MD) Enow Skyla Ebika, of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, has successfully defended a groundbreaking study examining surgical care practices at the Buea Regional Hospital in the South West region.
The research, titled “Compliance of Conventional Surgical Care with the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Protocol for Non-Obstetric Abdominal Surgeries at the Buea Regional Hospital,” evaluated how closely conventional surgical care aligns with the internationally recognized Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol.
During her defence, Enow described the study as original and groundbreaking, noting that its primary objective was to assess compliance with the ERAS protocol and to evaluate postoperative complications and length of hospital stay among patients undergoing non-obstetric abdominal surgeries.
Findings
Findings from the study revealed that compliance with the ERAS protocol was predominantly low. According to the research, 93.8% of participants received care that demonstrated low compliance with the protocol.
The study further found that patients exposed to lower compliance levels experienced significantly higher rates of postoperative complications compared to those whose care more closely adhered to the protocol.
No mortality was recorded among participants during the period of data collection.
Enow concluded that compliance of conventional surgical care with the ERAS protocol at the Buea Regional Hospital was low. The findings suggest that improved compliance with the protocol could help reduce postoperative complications and shorten hospital stays.
Based on the findings, she recommended the implementation of the ERAS protocol at the Buea Regional Hospital and called for similar studies to be replicated in hospitals across Cameroon.
Its primary objective was to evaluate compliance with the ERAS protocol and assess postoperative complications and the length of hospital stay among participants.
