A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate the impact of resident duty hours (RDH) on clinical and educational outcomes in surgery. A total of 135 articles met inclusion criteria. In surgery, recent RDH changes are not consistently associated with improved resident well-being and may have negative impacts on patient outcomes and education.

Evidence indicates that ERAS protocols may be implemented in pancreatic surgery without compromising patient safety or increasing LoS. Enhanced recovery after surgery programmes in the context of pancreatic surgery should be standardized based upon the best available evidence, and trials of ERAS programmes involving multiple centres should be performed.

CPWs may generate cost savings by reducing unnecessary investigations, and improve quality of care through process standardization and decreasing practice variation.