ENHANCED RECOVERY PATHWAYS (ERAS) IMPLEMENTATION IN MINIMALLY INVASIVE ESOPHAGECTOMY; AN EARLY EXPERIENCE

Objective: To evaluate the impact of enhanced recovery pathways (ERAS) on hospital stay and postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing minimally invasive esophagectomy in comparison to conventional pathway. Study Design: Quasi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Thoracic Surgery Department, Combined Military Hospital Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jul 2018 to Mar 2020. Methodology: A total of 80 patients who underwent minimally invasive esophagectomy were divided in two groups. Group A underwent ERAS pathway and group B underwent conventional pathway. Both groups were compared for demographic characteristics, mean ICU stay, length of hospital stay, commencement of oral intake, and time of chest drain removal, readmission rates, postoperative morbidity and mortality. Results: There was no significant difference in age, gender and diagnostic indication among both groups. ERAS group was found to have shorter mean ICU stay (1.18 ± 0.55 vs 2.06 ± 1.10 days p<0.012), shorter hospital stay (7.50 ± 1.23 vs 11.6 ± 3.65 days, p<.001), earlier commencement of oral feeding (4.30 ± 1.41 vs 9.10 ± 4.26 days, p<0.001) and early removal of chest drains (3.22 ± vs 4.11 ± 1.52 p<0.001); when compared to conventional group. Overall morbidity in ERAS group was 50 (40%) versus 65% (81.25%) in conventional group. Mortality was same in both groups (2.5%). There was no readmission in ERAS group. Conclusion: ERAS in minimally invasive esophagectomy is safe and has positive impact on postoperative outcomes with marked reduction in overall morbidity in comparison to conventional regime. Results can be enhanced by ensuring better compliance to its.......

Supraclavicular vs. Infraclavicular Brachial Plexus Nerve Blocks: Clinical, Pharmacological, and Anatomical Considerations

: Peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) have become standard of care for enhanced recovery pathways after surgery. For brachial plexus delivery of anesthesia, both supraclavicular (SC) and infraclavicular (IC) approaches have been shown to require less supplemental anesthesia, are performed more rapidly, have quicker onset time, and have lower rates of complications than other approaches (axillary, interscalene, etc.). Ultrasound-guidance is commonly utilized to improve outcomes, limit the need for deep sedation or general anesthesia, and reduce procedural complications. Given the SC and IC approaches are the most common approaches for brachial plexus blocks, the differences between the two have been critically evaluated in the present manuscript. Various studies have demonstrated slight favorability towards the IC approach from the standpoint of complications and safety. Two prospective RCTs found a higher incidence of complications in the SC approach – particularly Horner syndrome. The IC method appears to support a greater block distribution as well. Overall, both SC and IC brachial plexus nerve block approaches are the most effective and safe approaches, particularly under ultrasound-guidance. Given the success of the supraclavicular and infraclavicular blocks, these techniques are an important skill set for the anesthesiologist for intraoperative anesthesia and postoperative analgesia.

EFFICACY OF QUADRATUS LUMBORUM BLOCKS IN ROBOTIC NEPHRECTOMY- A RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW.

Abstract: With the implementation of enhanced recovery pathways (ERAS) in kidney surgeries, regional techniques are being considered an important aspect of multimodal analgesia. Abdominal blocks such as quadratus lumborum block (QLB) have been used as an effective analgesic in abdominal surgeries, however their efficacy in kidney surgery remains unknown. To our best knowledge, there are no clinical studies exploring the relationship between QLBs and post-operative opioid consumption in robotic laparoscopic nephrectomy. Study Objectives: Assess analgesic efficacy between QLB and post-operative opioid consumption in robotic laparoscopic nephrectomy. Design and Setting: A retrospective chart review was conducted by querying the electronic medical record system of 2,200 bed tertiary academic hospital center in New York City. Outcomes: The primary measured outcome was postoperative morphine milli equivalent (MME) consumption for the first 24 hours. Secondary outcomes include intra-operative MME, as well as postoperative pain scores measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS) scale at 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours post-operatively. Results: The mean total post-operative MME in the pQLB group was 11 [4, 18] and 15 [5.6, 28] in the control group (p =.001). There was a significant reduction in intra-operative MME in the QLB group in comparison to the control group. This reduction was not seen in post-operative MME. There was no significant difference in pain scores at any of the measured time points up to 24 hours post-operatively. Conclusion: Our study provides compelling support that ultrasound guided QLB significantly decreased intra operative opioid requirements but did not have the same effect on postoperative opioid requirements following robotic kidney surgeries in the context of an ERAS pathway. Keywords: Kidney surgeries, Robotic laparoscopic nephrectomy, quadratus lumborum block (QLB), enhanced recovery pathways (ERAS)

A Standardized Framework for Evaluating Surgical Enhanced Recovery Pathways: A Recommendations Statement from the TDABC in Health-care Consortium

Background: Innovative methodologies to redesign care delivery are being applied to increase value in health care, including the creation of enhanced recovery pathways (ERPs) for surgical patients. However, there is a lack of standardized methods to evaluate ERP implementation costs. Objectives: This Recommendations Statement aims to introduce a standardized framework to guide the economic evaluation of ERP care-design initiatives, using the Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) methodology. Methods: We provide recommendations on using the proposed framework to support the decision-making processes that incorporate ERPs. Since ERPs are usually composed of activities distributed throughout the patient care pathway, the framework can demonstrate how the TDABC may be a valuable method to evaluate the incremental costs of protocol implementation. Our recommendations are based on the review of available literature and expert opinions of the members of the TDABC in Healthcare Consortium. Results: The ERP framework, composed of 11 steps, was created describing how the techniques and methods can be applied to evaluate the economic impact of an ERP and guide health-care leaders to optimize the decision-making process of incorporating ERPs into health-care settings. Finally, six recommendations are introduced to demonstrate that using the suggested framework could increase value in ERP care-design initiatives by reducing variability in care delivery, educating multidisciplinary teams about value in health, and increasing transparency when managing surgical pathways. Conclusions: Our proposed standardized framework can guide decisions and support measuring improvements in value achieved by incorporating the perioperative redesign protocols.

Enhanced Recovery after Surgery: History, Key Advancements and Developments in Transplant Surgery

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) aims to improve patient outcomes by controlling specific aspects of perioperative care. The concept was introduced in 1997 by Henrik Kehlet, who suggested that while minor changes in perioperative practise have no significant impact alone, incorporating multiple changes could drastically improve outcomes. Since 1997, significant advancements have been made through the foundation of the ERAS Society, responsible for creating consensus guidelines on the implementation of enhanced recovery pathways. ERAS reduces length of stay by an average of 2.35 days and healthcare costs by $639.06 per patient, as identified in a 2020 meta-analysis of ERAS across multiple surgical subspecialties. Carbohydrate loading, bowel preparation and patient education in the pre-operative phase, goal-directed fluid therapy in the intra-operative phase, and early mobilisation and enteral nutrition in the post-operative phase are some of the interventions that are commonly implemented in ERAS protocols. While many specialties have been quick to incorporate ERAS, uptake has been slow in the transplantation field, leading to a scarcity of literature. Recent studies reported a 47% reduction in length of hospital stay (LOS) in liver transplantation patients treated with ERAS, while progress in kidney transplantation focuses on pain management and its incorporation into enhanced recovery protocols.