Early compliance to the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in liver surgery: a proposal to clarify the cause-effect relationship with clinical outcome

Background: The application of the ERAS program (EP) in liver surgery leads to a faster return to pre-operative patient homeostasis. However, it is debated whether compliance to EP affects postoperative outcome measures or whether the occurrence of morbidity impacts on poor EP compliance. Standardization of a threshold for compliance to EP and the timing of its detection might elucidate this debate.