Impact of outpatient total hip or knee replacement on informal caregivers at home: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Although total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) offer significant cost savings to our health care system, the degree to which the burden of postoperative care has been transferred onto the informal caregiver is often overlooked. We performed a scoping review to identify the characteristics and factors that contribute to the burden of care experienced after outpatient THA and TKA. METHODS: We systematically searched electronic literature databases according to scoping review guidelines from inception to June 2021 for articles reporting the experiences of informal caregivers providing care for patients having undergone outpatient THA or TKA. Our review included English-language studies that sought to elucidate the impact on caregivers in the acute postoperative period (up to 6 wk after surgery). RESULTS: Our search yielded 1423 unique articles, which were screened for inclusion. We removed 310 duplicate records and excluded another 1099 articles because they did not meet the inclusion criteria for full-text screening with relevancy. We thus assessed 14 articles for full-text review, and none were found to meet our inclusion criteria. CONCLUSION: We found no published data pertaining to the burden borne by informal caregivers who provide perioperative care to patients who have undergone ambulatory THA or TKA. Further research is needed to identify, quantify and determine the modifiability of the various characteristics and factors that contribute to caregiver burden in the outpatient setting.

Effect of audit and feedback on physicians' intraoperative temperature management and patient outcomes: a three-arm cluster randomized-controlled trial comparing benchmarked and ranked feedback.

PURPOSE: Audit and feedback can improve physicians' practice; however, the most effective type of feedback is unknown. Inadvertent perioperative hypothermia is associated with postoperative complications and remains common despite the use of effective and safe warming devices. This study aimed to measure the impact of targeted audit and feedback on anesthesiologists' intraoperative temperature management and subsequent patient outcomes. METHODS: This study was a three-arm cluster randomized-controlled trial. Anesthesiologists' intraoperative temperature management performance was analyzed in two phases. The first was a baseline phase with audit but no feedback for eight months, followed by an intervention phase over the next seven-month period after participants had received interventions according to their randomized group allocation of no feedback (control), benchmarked feedback, or ranked feedback. Anesthesiologists' percentage of hypothermic patients at the end of surgery (primary endpoint) and use of a warming device were compared among the groups. RESULTS: Forty-five attending anesthesiologists who took care of 7,846 patients over 15 months were included. The odds of hypothermia (temperature < 36°C at the end of surgery) increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention in the control and ranked groups (control odds ratio [OR], 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.56; P = 0.02; ranked OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.56; P = 0.04) but not in the benchmarked group (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.28; P = 0.58). Between-arm differences in pre- to post-intervention changes were not significant (benchmark vs control OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.62 to 1.10; P = 0.19; ranked vs control OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.73 to 1.33, P = 0.94). No significant overall effect on intraoperative warmer use change was detected. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence to suggest that audit and feedback, using benchmarked or ranked feedback, is more effective than no feedback at all to change anesthesiologists' intraoperative temperature management performance. Feedback may need to be included in a bundle to produce its effect. TRIALS REGISTRATION: www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02414191). Registered 19 March 2015.

Patient function and caregiver burden after ambulatory surgery: a cohort study of patients older than 65.

PURPOSE: The primary objective of this prospective cohort study was to assess the impact of ambulatory surgery on patient function one week and one month following surgery among surgical patients ≥ 65 yr of age. Secondary objectives were to determine whether changes in patient function were correlated with increased burden of care in the patient's primary caregiver and with patient assessments of postoperative pain and quality of life. METHODS: Following Research Ethics Board approval, patients aged ≥ 65 yr undergoing elective ambulatory surgery and their caregivers were recruited. Patients completed the système de mesure de l'autonomie fonctionnelle (SMAF) and the Brief Pain Inventory. Primary caregivers completed the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). All measurements were obtained preoperatively and on postoperative days (POD) 7 and 30. RESULTS: Patient function decreased on POD 7 and had not returned to baseline on POD 30 (mean change in SMAF 6.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.3 to 8.4 on POD 7 and mean change in SMAF 2.6; 95% CI 1.3 to 4.0 on POD 30). Interval changes in caregiver burden were not significant (mean change in ZBI -0.4; 95% CI -1.8 to 0.96 on POD 7 and mean change in ZBI -0.6; 95% CI -2.1 to 0.8 on POD 30). Decreased patient function was associated with increased caregiver burden at all time points (P < 0.001). Decreased caregiver function at baseline was also associated with higher ZBI (linear association 0.71; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Patients exhibited reduced function seven days following ambulatory surgery. Patient function largely recovered by POD 30. Caregiver burden was variable and influenced by both patient and caregiver function. This trial was registered with Clinical Trials.gov (NCT01382251).

Remifentanil decreases sevoflurane requirements in children.

PURPOSE: To establish the effect of increasing concentrations of remifentanil on sevoflurane requirements in children. METHODS: Fifty-eight healthy patients, ASA status I-II aged two to 12 yr, undergoing abdominal wall hernia or hydrocele repairs were serially assigned to one of four test groups to receive remifentanil 0.03 microg.kg(-1).min(-1), 0.06 microg.kg(-1).min(-1), 0.12 microg.kg(-1).min(-1), or 0.25 microg.kg(-1).min(-1) iv. Patients received a bolus of remifentanil 1 microg.kg(-1) iv before the infusion began. End-tidal sevoflurane concentration was adjusted according to a Dixon up-and-down approach. Ten minutes after starting the remifentanil infusion, the surgical incision was made. The patient was observed for one minute from the time of incision by a solitary blinded rater for either flexion or withdrawal of one or more extremities in response to skin incision. RESULTS: The mean minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane was 2.39 +/- 0.58 with 0.03 microg.kg(-1).min(-1) remifentanil, 1.91 +/- 0.36 with 0.06 microg.kg(-1).min(-1) remifentanil, and 0.92 +/- 0.11 with 0.12 microg.kg(-1).min(-1) remifentanil. Remifentanil 0.25 microg.kg(-1).min(-1) lead to the sevoflurane being decreased to a level associated with spontaneous patient awakening. The effective dose (ED(50)) values of sevoflurane were 2.44 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.16-2.72], 2.00 (95% CI 1.78-2.22), and 1.18 (95% CI 0.99-1.36) for remifentanil infusion rates of 0.03 microg.kg(-1).min(-1), 0.06 microg.kg(-1).min(-1), and 0.12 microg.kg(-1).min(-1) respectively. CONCLUSION: The administration of remifentanil produced a dose-dependent decrease in the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane necessary for inhibition of movement reaction in response to surgical incision. The use of remifentanil may allow for flexible analgesic control and rapid recovery in children anesthetized with sevoflurane.