Racial disparities in postoperative outcomes persist for patients with inflammatory bowel disease under a colorectal enhanced recovery program.

Introduction: Enhanced recovery programs (ERPs) reduce racial disparities in surgical outcomes for general colorectal surgery populations. It is unclear, however, if disparities in IBD populations are impacted by ERPs.

Methods: Retrospective study comparing IBD patients undergoing major elective colorectal operations before (2006-2014) and after (2015-2021) ERP implementation using ACS-NSQIP data. The primary outcome of length of stay (LOS) was analyzed by negative binomial regression, and secondary outcomes (complications and readmissions) by logistic regression.

Results: Of 466 IBD patients, 47% were pre-ERP and 53% were ERP patients. In multivariable analysis stratified by ERP period, Black race was associated with increased odds of complications in the pre-ERP (OR 3.6, 95%CI 1.4-9.3) and ERP groups (OR 3.1 95%CI 1.3-7.6). Race was not a predictor of LOS or readmission in either group. High social vulnerability was associated with increased odds of readmission pre-ERP (OR 15.1, 95%CI 2.1-136.3), but this disparity was mitigated under ERPs (OR 1.4, 95%CI 0.4-5.6).

Conclusion: While ERPs mitigated some disparities by social vulnerability, racial disparities persist in IBD populations even under ERPs. Further work is needed to achieve surgical equity for IBD patients.