Prospective study of patient satisfaction with enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol in the immediate post-operative period in gynaecological oncology.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a multimodal protocol which aims to facilitate faster discharge from hospital and recovery after surgery by minimising physiological and physical stress on the body before, during and after surgery. AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate patient satisfaction while being managed with the ERAS pathway and to determine whether it is an acceptable model of care in this respect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is an observational study of patient satisfaction in ERAS in gynaecological oncology. Patients who underwent laparoscopy or laparotomy for malignancy or suspected malignancy were asked to complete a validated questionnaire (EORTC IN-PATSAT32) prior to discharge from hospital after surgery. RESULTS: There were 113 (75.33%) patients recruited out of 150 patients who were approached. There were 68 cases of laparotomy and 45 cases of laparoscopy. There were no statistically significant differences between baseline characteristics of responders and non-responders in both the laparotomy and the laparoscopy group. Patients reported high levels of satisfaction, with a mean score for general satisfaction of 92.2 (SD 11.44 ± 1.387) in the laparotomy group and 92.4 (SD 10.69 ± 1.594) for the laparoscopy group. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study reflect high levels of patient satisfaction in both the laparotomy and laparoscopy groups. This could be attributed to a strong focus on discharge planning through a multi-disciplinary approach, specifically addressing key aspects to recovery from initial consultation. The study reflects the successful implementation of an ERAS protocol with gynaecological oncological surgery in this unit.

Diagnostic Accuracy and Reproducibility of Predicting Cul-de-Sac Obliteration by General Gynaecologists and Minimally Invasive Gynaecologic Surgeons.

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge of rectouterine cul-de-sac state and consistent classification among surgeons are important in the surgical management of women with endometriosis. The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy and interobserver and intraobserver agreement among general gynaecologists (GGs) and minimally invasive gynaecologic surgeons (MIGSs) in the prediction of cul-de-sac obliteration at off-line analysis of laparoscopic videos. METHODS: Five GGs and five MIGSs viewed 33 prerecorded laparoscopic video sets off-line to determine cul-de-sac obliteration state (non-obliterated, partially obliterated, or completely obliterated) on two occasions (at least 7days apart). Diagnostic accuracy and interobserver and intraobserver agreement were evaluated. RESULTS: The interobserver agreements for all 10 observers for the description of cul-de-sac state ranged from fair to substantial agreement, with moderate overall agreement. MIGSs had slightly higher within-group interobserver agreement compared with GGs. MIGSs achieved overall almost perfect intraobserver agreement compared with substantial agreement for GGs. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for MIGSs classifying the cul-de-sac state were 83.9%, 88.5%, 88.5%, 89.2%, 92.0%, and 84.7%, respectively, whereas for GGs, they were 79.1%, 79.4%, 88.1%, 89.9%, and 76.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Diagnostic accuracy and interobserver and intraobserver agreement for cul-de-sac obliteration state classification is acceptable in both groups. MIGSs had greater diagnostic accuracy and exhibited high interobserver and intraobserver agreement, a finding suggesting that their advanced training makes them more reliable in cul-de-sac obliteration assessment. Partial cul-de-sac obliteration was the most commonly incorrectly diagnosed state, thus implying that partial obliteration is not well understood.

Ultrasound-Based Endometriosis Staging System: Validation Study to Predict Complexity of Laparoscopic Surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To validate the preoperative ultrasound-based endometriosis staging system (UBESS) for predicting the correct Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy and Surgery (AGES) Society's level of laparoscopic skill required for endometriosis surgery. DESIGN: Multi-center retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Tertiary teaching hospital and a private gynecologic clinic. PATIENTS: 155 women presenting with chronic pelvic pain and/or a history of endometriosis. INTERVENTIONS: Women underwent detailed specialized transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) in a tertiary referral unit to diagnose and stage endometriosis using the 3 stages of the UBESS. The UBESS was correlated to RANZCOG/AGES laparoscopic skill levels. The UBESS classifications were correlated as follows: UBESS I to predict RANZCOG/AGES surgical skill level 1/2, UBESS II to predict RANZCOG/AGES skill level ¾, and UBESS III to predict RANZCOG/AGES skill level 6. MAIN RESULTS: The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios of the UBESS I to predict the RANZCOG/AGES surgical skill levels 1/2 were 99.4%, 98.9%, 100%, 100%, 98.5%, not applicable, and .011; those of UBESS II to predict surgical skill levels 3/4 were: 98.1%, 96.8%, 98.4%, 93.8%, 99.2%, 60 and .033, respectively, and those for UBESS III to predict surgical skill level 6 were: 98.7%, 97.2%, 99.2%, 97.2%, 99.2%, 115.7, and 0.028, respectively. The rate of correctly predicting the exact level of skills needed was 98.1%, and Cohen's kappa statistic for the agreement between UBESS prediction and levels of training required at surgery was 0.97, indicating almost perfect agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The UBESS can be used to predict the level of complexity of laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis based on the RANZCOG/AGES skills levels for laparoscopy. It now awaits external validation in multiple centers with various surgical skill level classification systems to assess its general applicability.