Perioperative Care of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Patients: A Biopsychosocial Approach.

Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people endure numerous physical and mental health disparities secondary to lifelong stigma and marginalization, which are often perpetuated in medical spaces. Despite such barriers, TGD people are seeking gender-affirming care (GAC) with increased frequency. GAC facilitates the transition from the sex assigned at birth to the affirmed gender identity and is comprised of hormone therapy (HT) and gender-affirming surgery (GAS). The anesthesia professional is uniquely poised to serve as an integral support for TGD patients within the perioperative space. To provide affirmative perioperative care to TGD patients, anesthesia professionals should understand and attend to the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of health that are relevant to this population. This review outlines the biological factors that impact the perioperative care of TGD patients, such as the management of estrogen and testosterone HT, safe use of sugammadex, interpretation of laboratory values in the context of HT, pregnancy testing, drug dosing, breast binding, altered airway and urethral anatomy after prior GAS, pain management, and other GAS considerations. Psychosocial factors are reviewed, including mental health disparities, health care provider mistrust, effective patient communication, and the interplay of these factors in the postanesthesia care unit. Finally, recommendations to improve TGD perioperative care are reviewed through an organizational approach with an emphasis on TGD-focused medical education. These factors are discussed through the lens of patient affirmation and advocacy with the intent to educate the anesthesia professional on the perioperative management of TGD patients.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Patients Are Prescribed Fewer Opioids at Discharge: A Propensity-score Matched Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare discharge opioid prescriptions pre- and post-ERAS implementation. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: ERAS programs decrease inpatient opioid use, but their relationship with postdischarge opioids remains unclear. METHODS: All patients undergoing hysterectomy between October 2016 and November 2020 and pancreatectomy or hepatectomy between April 2017 and November 2020 at 1 tertiary care center were included. For each procedure, ERAS was implemented during the study period. PSM was performed to compare pre - versus post-ERAS patients on discharge opioids (number of pills and oral morphine equivalents). Patients were matched on age, sex, race, payor, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, prior opioid use, and procedure. Sensitivity analyses in open versus minimally invasive surgery cohorts were performed. RESULTS: A total of 3983 patients were included (1929 pre-ERAS; 2054 post-ERAS). Post-ERAS patients were younger (56.0 vs 58.4 years; P < 0.001), more often female (95.8% vs 78.1%; P < 0.001), less often white (77.2% vs 82.0%; P < 0.001), less often had prior opioid use (20.1% vs 28.1%; P < 0.001), and more often underwent hysterectomy (91.1% vs 55.7%; P < 0.001). After PSM, there were no significant differences between cohorts in baseline characteristics. Matched post-ERAS patients were prescribed fewer opioid pills (17.4 pills vs 22.0 pills; P < 0.001) and lower oral morphine equivalents (129.4 mg vs 167.6 mg; P < 0.001) than pre-ERAS patients. Sensitivity analyses confirmed these findings [open (18.8 pills vs 25.4 pills; P < 0.001 \ 138.9 mg vs 198.7 mg; P < 0.001); minimally invasive surgery (17.2 pills vs 21.1 pills; P < 0.001 \ 127.1 mg vs 160.1 mg; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Post-ERAS patients were prescribed significantly fewer opioids at discharge compared to matched pre-ERAS patients.

Impact of Gabapentin on PACU Length of Stay and Perioperative Intravenous Opioid Use for ERAS Hysterectomy Patients.

We investigated the impact of preoperative gabapentin on perioperative intravenous opioid requirements and post anesthesia care unit length of stay (PACU LOS) for patients undergoing laparoscopic and vaginal hysterectomies within an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway. A multidisciplinary team retrospectively examined 2,015 patients who underwent laparoscopic or vaginal hysterectomies between October 2016 and January 2020 at a single academic institution. The average PACU LOS was 168 min among patients who did not receive gabapentin vs. 180 min both among patients who received ≤ 300 mg of gabapentin and patients who received > 300 mg of gabapentin. After adjusting for demographics and medical comorbidities, PACU LOS for patients given ≤ 300 mg gabapentin was 6% longer (rate ratio (RR) = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.01-1.11) than for patients who were not given gabapentin, and for patients who received > 300 mg of gabapentin was 7% longer (RR = 1.07, 95%CI = 1.01-1.13) than for those who did not receive gabapentin. Patients who received ≤ 300 mg gabapentin received 9% less perioperative intravenous hydromorphone than patients who did not receive gabapentin (RR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86 - 0.97); patients who received > 300 mg of gabapentin received 12% less perioperative intravenous hydromorphone than patients who did not receive gabapentin (RR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.82 - 0.95). These findings represent an absolute difference of 0.09 mg intravenous hydromorphone. There were no statistically significant differences in total intravenous fentanyl received. Preoperative gabapentin given as part of an ERAS pathway is associated with statistically but not clinically significant increases in PACU LOS and decreases in total perioperative intravenous opioid use.

Implementing ERAS: how we achieved success within an anesthesia department.

BACKGROUND: The Massachusetts General Hospital is a large, quaternary care institution with 58 operating rooms, 164 anesthesiologists, 76 certified nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), an anesthesiology residency program that admits 25 residents annually, and 35 surgeons who perform laparoscopic, vaginal, and open hysterectomies. In March of 2018, our institution launched an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway for patients undergoing hysterectomy. To implement the anesthesia bundle of this pathway, an intensive 14-month educational endeavor was created and put into effect. There were no subsequent additional educational interventions. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed records of 2570 patients who underwent hysterectomy between October 2016 and March 2020 to determine adherence to the anesthesia bundle of the ERAS Hysterectomy pathway. RESULTS: Increased adherence to the four elements of the anesthesia bundle (p < 0.001) was achieved during the intervention period. Compliance with the pathway was sustained in the post-intervention period despite no additional actions. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the anesthesia bundle of an ERAS pathway in a large anesthesia group with diverse providers successfully occurred using implementation science-based approach of intense interventions, and these results were maintained after the intervention ceased.