Patterns in current perioperative practice: survey of colorectal surgeons in five northern European countries.

Evidence for optimal perioperative care in colorectal surgery is abundant. By avoiding fasting, intravenous fluid overload, and activation of the neuroendocrine stress response, postoperative catabolism is reduced and recovery enhanced. The specific measures that can be used routinely include no bowel preparation, epidural anaesthesia/analgesia continued for one to two days postoperatively, no nasogastric decompression tube postoperatively, intravenous fluid/saline restriction, and free oral intake from postoperative day one. This survey aimed to characterise perioperative practice in colorectal cancer surgery in five northern European countries: Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.