Table 2.
Perioperative care item
| Care item | Mean (SD) |
|---|---|
| Optimizing fluid balance |
10.28 (1.22) |
| Preoperative counselling by nurse, anaesthetist and surgeon |
10.26 (1.10) |
| Promoting early and scheduled mobilisation |
10.24 (1.19) |
| Avoiding nasogastric tube after the operation |
9.71 (1.86) |
| Allowing normal diet at will after the operation |
9.70 (1.49) |
| Antimicrobial prophylaxis and skin preparation |
9.62 (1.97) |
| Preoperative fasting kept at absolute minimum |
9.41 (2.08) |
| Oral carbohydrate loading preoperatively |
8.75 (2.40) |
| Stimulation of gut mobility |
8.65 (2.35) |
| Avoiding a wound drain |
8.56 (2.49) |
| Avoiding oral bowel preparation preoperatively |
8.53 (2.45) |
| Using epidural analgesia for approximately 48 h postop |
8.44 (2.78) |
| Avoiding preanaesthetic sedative medication | 8.14 (2.57) |
Mean rating of the care items amongst all responders, listed in descending order of importance (scale 1 = not important, 11 = most important).