Background  Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors of digestive system. Growing evidence suggests that enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) can effectively promote the recovery of patients. The present study analyzes the applications of ERAS in gastric cancer patients.

  Objective  To investigate the effect of ERAS on patients with gastric cancer after total laparoscopic D2 radical resection.

  Methods  One hundred twenty patients diagnosed as gastric cancer by pathology admitted to the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from February 2018 to March 2019 were randomly divided into ERAS group and control group, with 60 patients in each group. The perioperative indicators, complications and recovery conditions were compared between the two groups.

  Results  The time to first flatus (61.88 ± 9.37 h vs 73.42 ± 8.69 h, P＜0.01), time to oral feeding (28.61 ± 4.76 h vs 81.33 ± 9.57 h, P＜0.01), time to ambulation (36.74 ± 6.81 h vs 75.17 ± 13.42 h, P＜0.01), time to remove indwelling urinary catheters (43.29 ± 8.31 h vs 83.77 ± 11.39 h, P＜0.01), time to drain removal (112.43 ± 20.58 h vs 157.68 ± 29.32 h, P＜0.01), NRS scores (6 h: 3.17 ± 0.76 vs 4.82 ± 1.03, P＜0.01; 24 h: 2.33 ± 0.56 vs 3.74 ± 0.87, P＜0.01; 48 h: 1.28 ± 0.31 vs 2.96 ± 0.52, P＜0.01), and hospitalization time (7.21 ± 1.32 d vs 10.32 ± 1.68 d, P＜0.01) in the ERAS group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (P＜0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in operating time, intraoperative blood loss, the number of lymph nodes dissected and complication rates (P＞0.05).

  Conclusion  Perioperative management based on ERAS intervention can promote the function of the intestinal to recover after total laparoscopic D2 radical resection for gastric cancer, shorten the hospitalization time and accelerate the recovery process of patients.