Multiorganizational consensus to define guiding principles for perioperative pain management in patients with chronic pain, preoperative opioid tolerance, or substance use disorder.

Significant knowledge gaps exist in the perioperative pain management of patients with a history of chronic pain, substance use disorder, and/or opioid tolerance as highlighted in the US Health and Human Services Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force 2019 report. The report emphasized the challenges of caring for these populations and the need for multidisciplinary care and a comprehensive approach. Such care requires stakeholder alignment across multiple specialties and care settings. With the intention of codifying this alignment into a reliable and efficient processes, a consortium of 15 professional healthcare societies was convened in a year-long modified Delphi consensus process and summit. This process produced seven guiding principles for the perioperative care of patients with chronic pain, substance use disorder, and/or preoperative opioid tolerance. These principles provide a framework and direction for future improvement in the optimization and care of 'complex' patients as they undergo surgical procedures.

Pro and Con: How Important Is the Exact Location of Adductor Canal and Femoral Triangle Blocks?

In this Pro-Con commentary article, we debate the importance of anterior thigh block locations for analgesia following total knee arthroplasty. The debate is based on the current literature, our understanding of the relevant anatomy, and a clinical perspective. We review the anatomy of the different fascial compartments, the course of different nerves with respect to the fascia, and the anatomy of the nerve supply to the knee joint. The Pro side of the debate supports the view that more distal block locations in the anterior thigh increase the risk of excluding the medial and intermediate cutaneous nerves of the thigh and the nerve to the vastus medialis, while increasing the risk of spread to the popliteal fossa, making distal femoral triangle block the preferred location. The Con side of the debate adopts the view that while the exact location of local anesthetic injection appears anatomically important, it has not been proven to be clinically relevant.

International Consensus Statement on Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

BACKGROUND: Evaluation and interpretation of the literature on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) allows for consolidation and determination of the key factors important for clinical management of the adult OSA patient. Toward this goal, an international collaborative of multidisciplinary experts in sleep apnea evaluation and treatment have produced the International Consensus statement on Obstructive Sleep Apnea (ICS:OSA). METHODS: Using previously defined methodology, focal topics in OSA were assigned as literature review (LR), evidence-based review (EBR), or evidence-based review with recommendations (EBR-R) formats. Each topic incorporated the available and relevant evidence which was summarized and graded on study quality. Each topic and section underwent iterative review and the ICS:OSA was created and reviewed by all authors for consensus. RESULTS: The ICS:OSA addresses OSA syndrome definitions, pathophysiology, epidemiology, risk factors for disease, screening methods, diagnostic testing types, multiple treatment modalities, and effects of OSA treatment on multiple OSA-associated comorbidities. Specific focus on outcomes with positive airway pressure (PAP) and surgical treatments were evaluated. CONCLUSION: This review of the literature consolidates the available knowledge and identifies the limitations of the current evidence on OSA. This effort aims to create a resource for OSA evidence-based practice and identify future research needs. Knowledge gaps and research opportunities include improving the metrics of OSA disease, determining the optimal OSA screening paradigms, developing strategies for PAP adherence and longitudinal care, enhancing selection of PAP alternatives and surgery, understanding health risk outcomes, and translating evidence into individualized approaches to therapy.

Recommendations for anatomical structures to identify on ultrasound for the performance of intermediate and advanced blocks in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia.

Recent recommendations describe a set of core anatomical structures to identify on ultrasound for the performance of basic blocks in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA). This project aimed to generate consensus recommendations for core structures to identify during the performance of intermediate and advanced blocks. An initial longlist of structures was refined by an international panel of key opinion leaders in UGRA over a three-round Delphi process. All rounds were conducted virtually and anonymously. Blocks were considered twice in each round: for "orientation scanning" (the dynamic process of acquiring the final view) and for "block view" (which visualizes the block site and is maintained for needle insertion/injection). A "strong recommendation" was made if ≥75% of participants rated any structure as "definitely include" in any round. A "weak recommendation" was made if >50% of participants rated it as "definitely include" or "probably include" for all rounds, but the criterion for strong recommendation was never met. Structures which did not meet either criterion were excluded. Forty-one participants were invited and 40 accepted; 38 completed all three rounds. Participants considered the ultrasound scanning for 19 peripheral nerve blocks across all three rounds. Two hundred and seventy-four structures were reviewed for both orientation scanning and block view; a "strong recommendation" was made for 60 structures on orientation scanning and 44 on the block view. A "weak recommendation" was made for 107 and 62 structures, respectively. These recommendations are intended to help standardize teaching and research in UGRA and support widespread and consistent practice.

Same Day Joint Replacement Surgery: Patient Selection and Perioperative Management.

Joint replacements are increasingly performed as outpatient surgeries. The push toward ambulatory joint arthroplasty is driven in part by the changing current health care economics and reimbursement models. Patients' selection and well-designed perioperative care pathways are critical for the success of these procedures. The rate of complications after outpatient joint arthroplasty is comparable to the rate of complications in the ambulatory setting. Patient education, adequate social support, multimodal analgesia, regional anesthesia are key ingredients to the ambulatory care pathway after joint arthroplasty. Motor sparing nerve blocks are often used in these settings. Implementation of the elements of fast protocols can result in overall improvement of outcome metrics for all patients undergoing joint arthroplasty, including reduced length of stay and increased rate of home discharge.

A multisociety organizational consensus process to define guiding principles for acute perioperative pain management.

The US Health and Human Services Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force initiated a public-private partnership which led to the publication of its report in 2019. The report emphasized the need for individualized, multimodal, and multidisciplinary approaches to pain management that decrease the over-reliance on opioids, increase access to care, and promote widespread education on pain and substance use disorders. The Task Force specifically called on specialty organizations to work together to develop evidence-based guidelines. In response to this report's recommendations, a consortium of 14 professional healthcare societies committed to a 2-year project to advance pain management for the surgical patient and improve opioid safety. The modified Delphi process included two rounds of electronic voting and culminated in a live virtual event in February 2021, during which seven common guiding principles were established for acute perioperative pain management. These principles should help to inform local action and future development of clinical practice recommendations.

Peripheral nerve block anesthesia/analgesia for patients undergoing primary hip and knee arthroplasty: recommendations from the International Consensus on Anesthesia-Related Outcomes after Surgery (ICAROS) group based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of current literature.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based international expert consensus regarding the impact of peripheral nerve block (PNB) use in total hip/knee arthroplasty surgery. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis: randomized controlled and observational studies investigating the impact of PNB utilization on major complications, including mortality, cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, renal, thromboembolic, neurologic, infectious, and bleeding complications.Medline, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library including Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, were queried from 1946 to August 4, 2020.The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach was used to assess evidence quality and for the development of recommendations. RESULTS: Analysis of 122 studies revealed that PNB use (compared with no use) was associated with lower ORs for (OR with 95% CIs) for numerous complications (total hip and knee arthroplasties (THA/TKA), respectively): cognitive dysfunction (OR 0.30, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.53/OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.80), respiratory failure (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.74/OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.75), cardiac complications (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.93/OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.86), surgical site infections (OR 0.55 95% CI 0.47 to 0.64/OR 0.86 95% CI 0.80 to 0.91), thromboembolism (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.96/OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.96) and blood transfusion (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.86/OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.92). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the current body of evidence, the consensus group recommends PNB use in THA/TKA for improved outcomes. RECOMMENDATION: PNB use is recommended for patients undergoing THA and TKA except when contraindications preclude their use. Furthermore, the alignment of provider skills and practice location resources needs to be ensured. Evidence level: moderate; recommendation: strong.

Patient Involvement in Anesthesia Decision-making: A Qualitative Study of Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Calls to better involve patients in decisions about anesthesia-e.g., through shared decision-making-are intensifying. However, several features of anesthesia consultation make it unclear how patients should participate in decisions. Evaluating the feasibility and desirability of carrying out shared decision-making in anesthesia requires better understanding of preoperative conversations. The objective of this qualitative study was to characterize how preoperative consultations for primary knee arthroplasty arrived at decisions about primary anesthesia. METHODS: This focused ethnography was performed at a U.S. academic medical center. The authors audio-recorded consultations of 36 primary knee arthroplasty patients with eight anesthesiologists. Patients and anesthesiologists also participated in semi-structured interviews. Consultation and interview transcripts were coded in an iterative process to develop an explanation of how anesthesiologists and patients made decisions about primary anesthesia. RESULTS: The authors found variation across accounts of anesthesiologists and patients as to whether the consultation was a collaborative decision-making scenario or simply meant to inform patients. Consultations displayed a number of decision-making patterns, from the anesthesiologist not disclosing options to the anesthesiologist strictly adhering to a position of equipoise; however, most consultations fell between these poles, with the anesthesiologist presenting options, recommending one, and persuading hesitant patients to accept it. Anesthesiologists made patients feel more comfortable with their proposed approach through extensive comparisons to more familiar experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Anesthesia consultations are multifaceted encounters that serve several functions. In some cases, the involvement of patients in determining the anesthetic approach might not be the most important of these functions. Broad consideration should be given to both the applicability and feasibility of shared decision-making in anesthesia consultation. The potential benefits of interventions designed to enhance patient involvement in decision-making should be weighed against their potential to pull anesthesiologists' attention away from important humanistic aspects of communication such as decreasing patients' anxiety.

Analgesic efficacy of adding the IPACK block to a multimodal analgesia protocol for primary total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Peripheral nerve blocks have been integrated into most multimodal analgesia protocols for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The adductor canal block (ACB) has gained popularity because of its quadriceps muscle sparing. Similarly, local anesthetic injection between the popliteal artery and the posterior capsule of the knee, IPACK block, has been described to provide analgesia to the posterior capsule of the knee with motor-sparing qualities. This prospective randomized controlled trial aimed to assess the analgesic efficacy of adding the IPACK block to our current multimodal analgesic regimen, including the ACB, in patients undergoing primary TKA. METHODS: 119 patients were randomized to receive either an IPACK or a sham block in addition to multimodal analgesia and an ACB. We were set to assess pain in the back of the knee 6 hours after surgery. Other end points included quality of recovery after surgery, pain scores, opioid requirements, and functional measures. RESULTS: Patients who received the IPACK block had less pain in the back of the knee 6 hours after surgery when compared with the sham block: 21.7% vs 45.8%, p<0.01. There was marginal improvement in other pain measures in the first 24 hours after surgery. However, opioid requirements, quality of recovery and functional measures were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The IPACK block reduced the incidence of posterior knee pain 6 hours postoperatively.

Anesthesia residency training in regional anesthesiology and acute pain medicine: a competency-based model curriculum.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has shifted to competency-based medical education. This educational framework requires the description of educational outcomes based on the knowledge, skills and behaviors expected of competent trainees. It also requires an assessment program to provide formative feedback to trainees as they progress to competency in each outcome. Critical to the success of a curriculum is its practical implementation. This article describes the development of model curricula for anesthesiology residency training in regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine (core and advanced) using a competency-based framework. We further describe how the curricula were distributed through a shared web-based platform and mobile application.

Nerve Block Use after Hip Fracture Versus Elective Hip or Knee Arthroplasty: Retrospective Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Although peripheral nerve blocks are associated with improved pain control and end outcomes among older adults with hip fracture, their current utilization among US hip fracture patients is not well understood. We characterized contemporary use of peripheral nerve blocks after hip fracture over time and identified predictors of nerve block receipt. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of claims data from one large national private US insurer. SETTING: US acute care hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 94 985 adults aged 50 years and older hospitalized for a femoral neck, intertrochanteric, or subtrochanteric fracture; 409 263 adults aged 50 years and older hospitalized for elective hip or knee arthroplasty between 2004 and 2016. MEASUREMENTS: Receipt of a peripheral nerve block for pain control, based on Current Procedural Terminology codes in physician service claims. RESULTS: Overall, 2874 hip fracture patients (3.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.9-3.1) received a nerve block for pain control, and the percentage receiving a block increased from .4% in 2004-2006 (95% CI = .3%-.6%) to 4.6% in 2013-2016 (95% CI = 4.4%-4.8%; P < .001). The adjusted odds of receiving a nerve block was lower for patients with vs without dementia (odds ratio [OR] = .88; 95% CI = .80-.98; P = .02) and among patients aged 75 to 84 vs 64 years or younger (OR = .86; 95% CI = .74-1.00; P = .02). The odds of nerve block receipt did not vary according to race, ethnicity, fracture location, or most other common comorbidities. Compared with patients with hip fracture, the adjusted odds of nerve block receipt were 2 times higher among patients undergoing elective hip replacement and more than 30 times higher among patients undergoing elective knee replacement. CONCLUSION: Although use of peripheral nerve blocks for pain control after hip fracture has increased over time, fewer than 5 of every 100 patients hospitalized with hip fracture currently receive a peripheral nerve block, suggesting possible underuse. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:835-840, 2020.