Effects of the enhanced recovery after surgery intervention for preventing postpartum depression: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Postpartum depression (PPD), a prevalent public health problem, is a debilitating mental disorder for which preventive interventions could yield dramatic benefits. However, viable approach focusing the prevention of PPD for caesarean section (CS) patients remains limited currently. In recent decades, enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has gradually been implemented in CS and appears to be a potential and favourable preventive intervention for PPD, but systematic evidence on this issue is lacking. Therefore, a meta-analysis is designed to systematically explore the potential effect of ERAS on the prevention of PPD in CS patients. Methods and analysis Meta-analysis will be performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses statement. A systematic search across the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, grey literature and Wanfang Database will be conducted from inception to July 2023. Relevant studies investigating the association between ERAS and PPD will be included. Two reviewers will independently carry out the literature selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment. Disagreements will be resolved by group consensus. Statistical analyses will use the RevMan V.5.3 and STATA V.13 software. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system will be used to evaluate the strength of evidence. Ethics and dissemination This study raises no ethical issues. The pending meta-analysis may provide reliable evidence supporting ERAS as a viable preventive option for PPD in CS patients, further providing a useful reference for the health authorities and promoting the future clinical practice in this field. The formal results of this study will be submitted to a professional journal for publication.