Perioperative optimization and perioperative medicine have reshaped modern surgical care by aligning preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative practices toward safer, faster recovery. Despite encouraging data, variability in pathway design, adherence, and outcome definitions limits comparability and broad adoption across specialties and healthcare settings. Differences in patient risk profiles and resource availability further challenge translation into routine practice. At the same time, perioperative neuroscience and patient-centered metrics, such as delirium prevention, cognitive outcomes, and quality of life, underscore the need to connect pathways with outcomes that matter to patients and systems. Clarifying which elements are essential, which are context-dependent, and how to implement them safely and efficiently is a timely priority for multidisciplinary teams across the perioperative continuum.
This Research Topic aims to integrate and advance knowledge on perioperative optimization within the broader field of perioperative medicine, focusing on strategies that measurably improve outcomes and safety across surgical specialties. We seek studies that determine which components—pre-habilitation, multimodal analgesia and regional techniques, opioid-sparing approaches, hemodynamic and glycemic management, early mobilization and nutrition, and coordinated postoperative care, most effectively reduce complications, shorten length of stay, enhance functional recovery, and improve patient-reported outcomes, while maintaining safety in diverse contexts, including high-risk populations. By bringing together anesthesiologists, surgeons, internists, intensivists, rehabilitation professionals, and implementation scientists, the collection will highlight pragmatic pathways, monitoring strategies, and organizational models that translate evidence into reproducible bedside practice and value-based care.
We welcome submissions from any surgical specialty that address perioperative optimization and perioperative medicine. Article types include Original Research (randomized or observational), Clinical Trials, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses, Scoping Reviews, Mini or Narrative Reviews, Case Reports and Case Series, Protocols, Methods and Technical Notes, Brief Research Reports, Perspectives and Opinions, Letters to the Editor, and Editorials. Priority themes span cross-specialty perioperative optimization strategies, opioid-sparing and opioid-free anesthesia, multimodal analgesia and regional techniques, hemodynamic and glycemic management, perioperative brain health, delirium prevention and cognitive outcomes, early mobilization, nutrition and rehabilitation, as well as implementation science, quality metrics, equity, and resource utilization. The aim is to build a multidisciplinary resource that guides safer, more effective, and patient-centered perioperative pathways across diverse healthcare environments.
Keywords: Perioperative Optimization, Perioperative Medicine, Anesthesiology, Multimodal analgesia, Opioid-Sparing Strategies, Regional Anesthesia, Hemodynamic Optimization, Glycemic Management, Brain Health, Functional Recovery, Implementation Science
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
