Feasibility of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) implementation in Pediatric Urology: Pilot-phase outcomes of a prospective, multi-center study.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a fundamental shift in perioperative care that has consistently demonstrated an improved outcome for a wide variety of surgeries in adults but has only limited evidence in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the success with and barriers to implementation of ERAS in a prospective, multi-center study on patients undergoing complex lower urinary tract reconstruction. STUDY DESIGN: Centers were directed to implement an ERAS protocol using a multidisciplinary team and quality improvement methodologies. Providers completed pre- and post-pilot surveys. An audit committee met after enrolling the first 5 patients at each center. Pilot-phase outcomes included enrollment of ≥2 patients in the first 6 months of enrollment, completion of 90 days of follow-up, identification of barriers to implementation, and protocol adherence. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients were enrolled across 8 centers. The median age at surgery was 10.3 years (IQR 6.4-12.5). Sixty five percent had a diagnosis of myelomeningocele, and 33 % had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. A bladder augmentation was performed in 70 %, Mitrofanoff appendicovesicostomy in 52 %, Monti ileovesicostomy in 15 %, and antegrade continence enema channel in 38 %. The most commonly perceived barriers to implementation on the pre-pilot survey were "difficulty initiating and maintaining compliance with care pathway" in 51 % followed by a "lack of time, money, or clinical resources" in 36 %. The pre-pilot study experience, implementation, and pilot-phase outcomes are provided in the Table. All primary and secondary outcomes were achieved. DISCUSSION: The findings of the present study were similar to several small comparative studies with regard to the importance of a multidisciplinary team, strong leadership, and continuous audit for successful implementation of ERAS. Similar barriers were also encountered to other studies, which primarily related to a lack of administrative support, leadership, and buy-in from other services. The limitations of the present study included a relatively small heterogeneous cohort and absence of a comparative group, which will be addressed in the larger exploratory phase of the trial. The findings may also not be generaziable due to the need for sustainable processes that were unique to each center as well as an absence of adequate volume or resources at smaller centers. CONCLUSIONS: ERAS was successfully implemented for complex lower urinary tract reconstruction across 8 centers through a multidisciplinary team, structured approach based on the local context, and focus on a continuous audit.

Evaluating the role for regional analgesia in children with spina bifida: a retrospective observational study comparing the efficacy of regional versus systemic analgesia protocols following major urological surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Regional techniques are a key component of multimodal analgesia and help decrease opioid use perioperatively, but some techniques may not be suitable for all patients, such as those with spina bifida. We hypothesized peripheral regional catheters would reduce postoperative opioid use compared with no regional analgesia without increasing pain scores in pediatric patients with spina bifida undergoing major urological surgery. METHODS: A retrospective review of a multicenter database established for the study of enhanced recovery after surgery was performed of patients from 2009 to 2021 who underwent bladder augmentation or creation of catheterizable channels. Patients without spina bifida and those receiving epidural analgesia were excluded. Opioids were converted into morphine equivalents and normalized to patient weight. RESULTS: 158 patients with pediatric spina bifida from 7 centers were included, including 87 with and 71 without regional catheters. There were no differences in baseline patient factors. Anesthesia setup increased from median 40 min (IQR 34-51) for no regional to 64 min (IQR 40-97) for regional catheters (p<0.01). The regional catheter group had lower median intraoperative opioid usage (0.24 vs 0.80 mg/kg morphine equivalents, p<0.01) as well as lower in-hospital postoperative opioid usage (0.05 vs 0.23 mg/kg/day morphine equivalents, p<0.01). Pain scores were not higher in the regional catheters group. DISCUSSION: Continuous regional analgesia following major urological surgery in children with spina bifida was associated with a 70% intraoperative and 78% postoperative reduction in opioids without higher pain scores. This approach should be considered for similar surgical interventions in this population. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03245242.

Introduction of an enhanced recovery pathway results in decreased length of stay in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion: A description of implementation strategies and retrospective before-and-after study of outcomes.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study assessed whether implementation of an enhanced recovery-based pathway decreased length of stay without increasing readmissions among patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis undergoing posterior spinal fusion. DESIGN: Retrospective observational before-and-after study. SETTING: A tertiary children's hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 117 patients were studied, 78 in the pre-intervention group and 39 in the post-intervention group. All patients underwent posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) in the same institution with one of two spine surgeons. Age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, and Cobb angle were comparable between the two groups. INTERVENTIONS: Between the pre- and post-intervention groups an enhanced recovery protocol was developed. The pathway included standardized use of nonopioid analgesics, proactive transition to oral analgesics, scheduled antiemetics, plans for diet advancement, and specific physical therapy goals. MEASUREMENTS: Outcome measurements included hospital length of stay, cumulative opioid doses in the first two postoperative days, and time to discontinuation of urinary catheter and patient-controlled analgesia. Postoperative emergency department visits, hospital readmissions and chronic pain management referrals were also measured. Pain scores on postoperative days one through four were recorded. MAIN RESULTS: Hospital length of stay decreased from 4.6 days to 3.8 days. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) was discontinued one day earlier on average following pathway implementation. Average cumulative postoperative opioid use, in morphine equivalents, decreased in the first two postoperative days from 2.5 to 2.2 mg/kg. There was no change in hospital readmission rate or postoperative chronic pain referral. CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing PSF for AIS experienced shorter hospital stays without increased readmissions following the implementation of an enhanced recovery pathway. Development of this pathway required buy-in from multiple stakeholders and significant coordination among services. The principles used to develop this pathway may be applied in other institutions and to other patient populations using the model outlined here.

Implementation and sustainability of an enhanced recovery pathway in pediatric bladder reconstruction: Flexibility, commitment, teamwork.

INTRODUCTION: Although enhanced recovery pathways (ERP) provide a safe and effective way to improve the recovery of children undergoing bladder reconstruction, ERPs have not been widely adopted in pediatric urology. We describe a quality improvement initiative and outcomes after implementing a 24-element ERP at a single, freestanding children's hospital. STUDY DESIGN: Multiple stakeholder meetings were planned and executed, initially with pediatric practitioners with ERP experience to understand potential implementation barriers then with anesthesiologists, nurses, case managers, and other ancillary staff to draft our institution-specific ERP. A standardized order set was generated to improve ERP adherence. ERP adherence audits and cyclic performance evaluations held every 6-9 months facilitated continuous pathway refinement. Patient outcomes were compared with a pre-ERP historic cohort. RESULTS: Time from initial ERP planning to first implementation was 7 months. ERP was implemented in twenty consecutive patients undergoing bladder reconstruction (median age 11.3 years, range 4.1-21.1) who were compared to twenty consecutive pre-ERP patients (median age 11.4 years, range 7.7-25.1). Median post-operative length of stay (LOS) significantly decreased from 9 days (range 2-31) pre-ERP to 4 days (range 3-29) post-ERP (p < 0.05). A median of 16 (range 12-19) of 24 institutional pathway elements were implemented for each patient. Balancing measures showed no significant increases in highest Clavien complication grade, readmission rate, or unplanned return to the operating room within 30 post-operative days. DISCUSSION: Implementation of ERP is feasible but requires commitment from multi-disciplinary stakeholders. While we were unable to consistently achieve 80% of the elements, we successfully implemented the pathway and improved our patients' recovery processes (indirectly reflected by a decreased post-operative LOS) with adherence to a median of 67% of elements. Our implementation and effectiveness results are specific to our center and may not be generalizable. However, our experience may offer some insight for others interested in ERP implementation and encourage initiation of their own institutional pathways. CONCLUSION: Successful ERP implementation at our hospital for children undergoing bladder reconstruction was facilitated by open communication, early stakeholder involvement, and monitoring ERP adherence. ERP implementation significantly decreased LOS without increasing post-operative complications and readmissions (Summary figure).

Utilization of and barriers to enhanced recovery pathway implementation in pediatric urology.

INTRODUCTION: Enhanced Recovery Pathways (ERPs), also known as ERAS® pathways, are standardized pathways composed of 21-24 perioperative elements designed to improve post-surgical recovery. ERP has been shown to be safe and effective in children undergoing bladder reconstruction but has not been widely utilized. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess utilization of ERPs in pediatric urology and identify barriers to establishing these standardized pathways. STUDY DESIGN: Pediatric urologists who were members of the Societies for Pediatric Urology (SPU) were surveyed regarding their familiarity with standardized ERPs, current use of ERP elements, and encountered or perceived barriers to standardized ERP implementation. Willingness to implement ERP elements in a child undergoing bladder reconstruction was assessed with a 5-point Likert scale. Descriptive analysis was performed; Fisher's exact test was performed to assess associations between respondent demographics and ERP familiarity. RESULTS: Of 714 distributed surveys, 113 (16%) valid responses were collected. 69% of respondents were male, 58% practiced at academic institutions, and 57% performed 1-5 bladder reconstructions a year. 61% were somewhat familiar or not familiar with standardized ERP. While 54% currently utilize individual ERP elements, only 20% have standardized pathways. Out of 24 possible ERP elements, a median of 15 elements (range 0-24) were implemented by the respondents whether they reported they were implementing ERP elements or had standardized pathways in place. 15 of 24 ERP elements were found to be nearly universally acceptable, with greater than 90% of respondents being somewhat or very willing to implement them in the presented case scenario (Summary Figure). 62% and 56% of those who currently implement ERP elements and experienced barriers noted lack of administrative/leadership support and inability to achieve consensus among pediatric colleagues, respectively, as common barriers in standardization. For those who have not attempted standardization, the most common perceived barrier was pathway unfamiliarity (48%). DISCUSSION: Over half of respondents were not familiar with enhanced recovery pathways but were willing to implement a majority of the pathway elements, suggesting potential for ERP standardization in pediatric urology. Buy-in from colleagues and leadership would be necessary to overcome perceived barriers of standardized pathway development. CONCLUSION: Administrative support and more widespread knowledge of ERP amongst pediatric urologists are necessary to facilitate further implementation in children undergoing bladder reconstruction.

Videolaryngoscopy versus Fiber-optic Intubation through a Supraglottic Airway in Children with a Difficult Airway: An Analysis from the Multicenter Pediatric Difficult Intubation Registry.

BACKGROUND: The success rates and related complications of various techniques for intubation in children with difficult airways remain unknown. The primary aim of this study is to compare the success rates of fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway to videolaryngoscopy in children with difficult airways. Our secondary aim is to compare the complication rates of these techniques. METHODS: Observational data were collected from 14 sites after management of difficult pediatric airways. Patient age, intubation technique, success per attempt, use of continuous ventilation, and complications were recorded for each case. First-attempt success and complications were compared in subjects managed with fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway and videolaryngoscopy. RESULTS: Fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway and videolaryngoscopy had similar first-attempt success rates (67 of 114, 59% vs. 404 of 786, 51%; odds ratio 1.35; 95% CI, 0.91 to 2.00; P = 0.16). In subjects less than 1 yr old, fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway was more successful on the first attempt than videolaryngoscopy (19 of 35, 54% vs. 79 of 220, 36%; odds ratio, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.04 to 4.31; P = 0.042). Complication rates were similar in the two groups (20 vs. 13%; P = 0.096). The incidence of hypoxemia was lower when continuous ventilation through the supraglottic airway was used throughout the fiber-optic intubation attempt. CONCLUSIONS: In this nonrandomized study, first-attempt success rates were similar for fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway and videolaryngoscopy. Fiber-optic intubation via supraglottic airway is associated with higher first-attempt success than videolaryngoscopy in infants with difficult airways. Continuous ventilation through the supraglottic airway during fiber-optic intubation attempts may lower the incidence of hypoxemia.