A Multidisciplinary Patient-Specific Opioid Prescribing and Tapering Protocol Is Associated with a Decrease in Total Opioid Dose Prescribed for Six Weeks After Total Hip Arthroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective cohort study tested the hypothesis that implementing a multidisciplinary patient-specific discharge protocol for prescribing and tapering opioids after total hip arthroplasty (THA) will decrease the morphine milligram equivalent (MME) dose of opioids prescribed. METHODS: With institutional review board approval, we analyzed a Perioperative Surgical Home database and prescription data for all primary THA patients three months before (PRE) and three months after (POST) implementation of this new discharge opioid protocol based on patients' prior 24-hour inpatient opioid consumption. The primary outcome was total opioid dosage in MME prescribed and opioid refills for six weeks after surgery. Secondary outcomes included the number of tablets and MME prescribed at discharge, in-hospital opioid consumption, length of stay, and postoperative complications. RESULTS: Forty-nine cases (25 PRE and 24 POST) were included. Total median (10th-90th percentiles) MME for six weeks postoperatively was 900 (57-2082) MME PRE vs 295 (69-741) MME POST (mean difference = 721, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 127-1316, P = 0.007, Mann-Whitney U test). Refill rates did not differ. The median (10th-90th percentiles) initial discharge prescription in MME was 675 (57-1035) PRE vs 180 (18-534) POST (mean difference = 387, 95% CI = 156-618, P = 0.003, Mann-Whitney U test) MME. There were no differences in other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a patient-specific prescribing and tapering protocol decreases the mean six-week dosage of opioid prescribed by 63% after THA without increasing the refill rate.

Outcomes of Ambulatory Upper Extremity Surgery Patients Discharged Home with Perineural Catheters from a Veterans Health Administration Medical Center.

OBJECTIVE: The feasibility and safety of managing ambulatory continuous peripheral nerve blocks (CPNB) in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients are currently unknown. We aimed to characterize the outcomes of a large VHA cohort of ambulatory upper extremity surgery patients discharged with CPNB and identify differences, if any, between catheter types. METHODS: With institutional review board approval, we reviewed data for consecutive patients from a single VHA hospital who had received ambulatory CPNB for upper extremity surgery from March 2011 to May 2017. The composite primary outcome was the occurrence of any catheter-related issue or additional all-cause health care intervention after discharge. Our secondary outcome was the ability to achieve regular daily telephone contact. RESULTS: Five hundred one patients formed the final sample. The incidence of any issue or health care intervention was 104/274 (38%) for infraclavicular, 58/185 (31%) for interscalene, and 14/42 (33%) for supraclavicular; these rates did not differ between groups. Higher ASA status was associated with greater odds of having any issue, whereas increasing age was slightly protective. Distance was associated with an increase in catheter-related issues (P < 0.01) but not additional health care interventions (P = 0.51). Only interscalene catheter patients (3%) reported breathing difficulty. Infraclavicular catheter patients had the most emergency room visits but rarely for CPNB issues. Consistent daily telephone contact was not achieved. CONCLUSIONS: For VHA ambulatory CPNB patients, the combined incidence of a catheter-related issue or additional health care intervention was approximately one in three patients and did not differ by brachial plexus catheter type. Serious adverse events were generally uncommon.

Implementation of the IPACK (Infiltration between the Popliteal Artery and Capsule of the Knee) block into a multimodal analgesic pathway for total knee replacement.

BACKGROUND: The Infiltration between the Popliteal Artery and Capsule of the Knee (IPACK) block is a new anesthesiologist- administered analgesic technique for controlling posterior knee pain that has not yet been well studied in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. We compared pain outcomes in TKA patients before and after implementation of the IPACK with the hypothesis that patients receiving IPACK blocks will report lower pain scores on postoperative day (POD) 0 than non-IPACK patients. METHODS: With Institutional Review Board approval, we retrospectively reviewed data for consecutive TKA patients by a single surgeon 4 months before (PRE) and after (POST) IPACK implementation. All TKA patients received adductor canal catheters and peri-operative multimodal analgesia. The primary outcome was pain on POD 0. Other outcomes were daily pain scores, opioid consumption, ambulation distance, length of stay, and adverse events within 30 days. RESULTS: Post-implementation, 48/50 (96%) of TKA patients received an IPACK block, and they were compared with 32 patients in the PRE group. On POD 0, the lowest pain score (median [10th-90th percentiles]) was significantly lower for the POST group compared to the PRE group (0 [0-4.3] vs. 2.5 [0-7]; P = 0.003). The highest patient-reported pain scores on any POD were similar between groups with no differences in other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Within a multimodal analgesic protocol, addition of IPACK blocks decreased the lowest pain scores on POD 0. Although other outcomes were unchanged, there may be a role for new opioid-sparing analgesic techniques, and changing clinical practice change can occur rapidly.

Simulation-based ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia curriculum for anesthesiology residents.

Proficiency in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA) requires the practitioner to acquire cognitive and technical skills. For anesthesiology residents, an assortment of challenges has been identified in learning UGRA skills. Currently, a validated UGRA curriculum for residents does not exist, and the level of UGRA proficiency achieved during residency training can vary considerably. Simulated practice has been shown to enhance proficiency in UGRA, and a competency-based education with simulation training has been endorsed for anesthesiology residents. The objective of this review is to outline simulation-based training that can be implemented in a UGRA curriculum and to explore educational tools like gamification to facilitate competency in regional anesthesiology.

Are Case Volume and Facility Complexity Level Associated With Postoperative Complications After Hip Fracture Surgery in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System?

BACKGROUND: Hospital-related factors associated with mortality and morbidity after hip fracture surgery are not completely understood. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest single-payer, networked healthcare system in the country serving a relatively homogenous patient population with facilities that vary in size and resource availability. These characteristics provide some degree of financial and patient-level controls to explore the association, if any, between surgical volume and facility resource availability and hospital performance regarding postoperative complications after hip fracture surgery. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) Do VHA facilities with the highest complexity level designation (Level 1a) have a disproportionate number of better-than-expected performance outliers for major postoperative complications compared with lower-complexity level facilities? (2) Do VHA facilities with higher hip fracture surgical volume have a disproportionate number of better-than-expected performance outliers for major postoperative complications compared with lower-volume facilities? METHODS: We explored the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Project (VASQIP) database from October 2001 to September 2012 for records of hip fracture surgery performed. Data reliability of the VASQIP database has been previously validated. We excluded nine of the 98 VHA facilities for contributing fewer than 30 records. The remaining 89 VHA facilities provided 23,029 records. The VHA designates a complexity level to each facility based on multiple criteria. We labeled facilities with a complexity Level 1a (38 facilities)-the highest achievable VHA designated complexity level-as high complexity; we labeled all other complexity level designations as low complexity (51 facilities). Facility volume was divided into tertiles: high (> 277 hip fracture procedures during the sampling frame), medium (204 to 277 procedures), and low (< 204 procedures). The patient population treated by low-complexity facilities was older, had a higher prevalence of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (26% versus 22%, p < 0.001), and had a higher percentage of patients having surgery within 2 days of hospital admission (83% versus 76%, p < 0.001). High-complexity facilities treated more patients with recent congestive heart failure exacerbation (4% versus 3%, p < 0.001). We defined major postoperative complications as having at least one of the following: death within 30 days of surgery, cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation, new q-wave myocardial infarction, deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism, ventilator dependence for at least 48 hours after surgery, reintubation for respiratory or cardiac failure, acute renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy, progressive renal insufficiency with a rise in serum creatinine of at least 2 mg/dL from preoperative value, pneumonia, or surgical site infection. We used the observed-to-expected ratio (O/E ratio)-a risk-adjusted metric to classify facility performance-for major postoperative complications to assess the performance of VHA facilities. Outlier facilities with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for O/E ratio completely less than 1.0 were labeled "exceed expectation;" those that were completely greater than 1.0 were labeled "below expectation." We compared differences in the distribution of outlier facilities between high and low-complexity facilities, and between high-, medium-, and low-volume facilities using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: We observed no association between facility complexity level and the distribution of outlier facilities (high-complexity: 5% exceeded expectation, 5% below expectation; low-complexity: 8% exceeded expectation, 2% below expectation; p = 0.742). Compared with high-complexity facilities, the adjusted odds ratio for major postoperative complications for low-complexity facilities was 0.85 (95% CI, 0.67-1.09; p = 0.108).We observed no association between facility volume and the distribution of outlier facilities: 3% exceeded expectation and 3% below expectation for high-volume; 10% exceeded expectation and 3% below expectation for medium-volume; and 7% exceeded expectation and 3% below expectation for low-volume; p = 0.890). The adjusted odds ratios for major postoperative complications were 0.87 (95% CI, 0.73-1.05) for low- versus high-volume facilities and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.79-1.02] for medium- versus high-volume facilities (p = 0.155). CONCLUSIONS: These results do not support restricting facilities from treating hip fracture patients based on historical surgical volume or facility resource availability. Identification of consistent performance outliers may help health care organizations with multiple facilities determine allocation of services and identify characteristics and processes that determine outlier status in the interest of continued quality improvement. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

Patient education and engagement in postoperative pain management decreases opioid use following knee replacement surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Effects of patient education on perioperative analgesic utilization are not well defined. We designed a simple pain management educational card for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients and retrospectively reviewed clinical data before and after implementation to test the hypothesis that more informed patients will use less opioid. METHODS: With IRB approval, we analyzed clinical data collected perioperatively on all TKA patients one month before (PRE) and one month after (POST) card implementation. The card was designed using a modified Delphi method; the front explained all analgesic medications and the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale was on the back. The primary outcome was total opioid dosage in morphine milligram equivalents (MME) for the first two postoperative days. Secondary outcomes included daily opioid usage, pain scores, ambulation distance, hospital length of stay and use of antiemetics. RESULTS: There were 20 patients in each group with no differences in baseline characteristics. Total two-day MME [median (10th-90th percentiles)] was 71 (32-285) for PRE and 38 (1-117) for POST (p = 0.001). There were no other differences. CONCLUSION: Educating TKA patients in multimodal pain management using a simple tool decreases opioid usage. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Empowering TKA patients with education can reduce opioid use perioperatively.

Care of the Patient With a Peripheral Nerve Block.

Long-acting peripheral nerve blocks provide effective postoperative pain management, but there are risks associated with rendering an extremity insensate. Perianesthesia nurses play a major role in anticipating and mitigating risks and carefully monitoring patients for potential complications. This article presents uncommon but important considerations related to the care of patients with a peripheral nerve block. These include compartment syndrome, local anesthetic systemic toxicity, thermal injuries, falls, and fractures as well as their management and prevention. The nurse's responsibility in discharge education after a peripheral nerve block is also discussed.

Establishing an Acute Pain Service in Private Practice and Updates on Regional Anesthesia Billing.

Acute pain management is an expanding perioperative specialty and there is a renewed focus on implementing and developing an acute pain service (APS) in nonacademic hospitals (ie, "private practice"). An anesthesiologist-led APS can improve patient care by decreasing perioperative morbidity and potentially reducing the risk of chronic postsurgical pain syndromes. Elements of a successful APS include multidisciplinary collaboration to develop perioperative pain protocols, education of health care providers and patients, and regular evaluation of patient safety and quality of care metrics. Standardization of regional anesthesia procedures and billing practices can promote consistent outcomes and efficiency.

Perioperative Surgical Home Reduces Rapid Response Calls to a Postoperative Surgical Ward: How Anesthesiologists Are Improving the Inpatient Safety Net.

BACKGROUND: The Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) is an anesthesiologist-led, coordinated care model that may improve patient experience and safety. We hypothesized that PSH will decrease activation of the rapid response system for surgical inpatients. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed at an academic Veterans Affairs hospital with a PSH. Data from both medical and surgical cohorts admitted to a single ward were analyzed for the Pre-PSH (July 2006 to October 2010) and Post-PSH (November 2011 to May 2015) epochs. The primary outcome was incidence of rapid response team (RRT) activations per 1000 bed-days. RESULTS: Surgical patients had 5.8 RRT activations per 1000 bed-days Pre-PSH versus 3.7/1000 bed-days Post-PSH ( P = .006). There was no difference in RRT activations per 1000 bed-days for medical patients before and after PSH implementation. Pre-PSH was an independent predictor of mortality in the multivariable model (odds ratio = 1.7; P = .010). CONCLUSION: PSH is associated with decreased RRT activations among surgical inpatients only.

Preliminary Experience Using Eye-Tracking Technology to Differentiate Novice and Expert Image Interpretation for Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia.

OBJECTIVES: Objective measures are needed to guide the novice's pathway to expertise. Within and outside medicine, eye tracking has been used for both training and assessment. We designed this study to test the hypothesis that eye tracking may differentiate novices from experts in static image interpretation for ultrasound (US)-guided regional anesthesia. METHODS: We recruited novice anesthesiology residents and regional anesthesiology experts. Participants wore eye-tracking glasses, were shown 5 sonograms of US-guided regional anesthesia, and were asked a series of anatomy-based questions related to each image while their eye movements were recorded. The answer to each question was a location on the sonogram, defined as the area of interest (AOI). The primary outcome was the total gaze time in the AOI (seconds). Secondary outcomes were the total gaze time outside the AOI (seconds), total time to answer (seconds), and time to first fixation on the AOI (seconds). RESULTS: Five novices and 5 experts completed the study. Although the gaze time (mean ± SD) in the AOI was not different between groups (7 ± 4 seconds for novices and 7 ± 3 seconds for experts; P = .150), the gaze time outside the AOI was greater for novices (75 ± 18 versus 44 ± 4 seconds for experts; P = .005). The total time to answer and total time to first fixation in the AOI were both shorter for experts. CONCLUSIONS: Experts in US-guided regional anesthesia take less time to identify sonoanatomy and spend less unfocused time away from a target compared to novices. Eye tracking is a potentially useful tool to differentiate novices from experts in the domain of US image interpretation.

Virtual reality distraction decreases routine intravenous sedation and procedure-related pain during preoperative adductor canal catheter insertion: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality (VR) distraction is a nonpharmacological method to prevent acute pain that has not yet been thoroughly explored for anesthesiology. We present our experience using VR distraction to decrease routine intravenous sedation for patients undergoing preoperative perineural catheter insertion. METHODS: This 1-month quality improvement project involved all elective unilateral primary total knee arthroplasty patients who received a preoperative adductor canal catheter. Clinical data were analyzed retrospectively. For the first half of the month, all patients received usual care; intravenous sedation was administered at the discretion of the regional anesthesiologist. For the second half of the month, patients were offered VR distraction with intravenous sedation upon request. The primary outcome was fentanyl dosage; other outcomes included midazolam dosage, procedure-related pain, procedural time, and blood pressure changes. RESULTS: Seven patients received usual care and seven used VR. In the VR group, 1/7 received intravenous sedation versus 6/7 who received usual care (P = 0.029). The fentanyl dose was lower (median [10th-90th percentiles]) in the VR group (0 [0-20] µg) versus the non-VR group (50 [30-100] µg; P = 0.008). Midazolam use was lower in the VR group (0 [0-0] mg) than in the non-VR group (1 [0-1] mg; P = 0.024). Procedure-related pain was lower in the VR group (1 [1-4] NRS) versus the non-VR group (3 [2-6] NRS; P = 0.032). There was no difference in other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: VR distraction may provide an effective nonpharmacological alternative to intravenous sedation for the ultrasound-guided placement of certain perineural catheters.

Implementation of clinical practice changes by experienced anesthesiologists after simulation-based ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia training.

BACKGROUND: Anesthesiologists who have finished formal training and want to learn ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia (UGRA) commonly attend 1 day workshops. However, it is unclear whether participation actually changes clinical practice. We assessed change implementation after completion of a 1 day simulation-based UGRA workshop. METHODS: Practicing anesthesiologists who participated in a 1 day UGRA course from January 2012 through May 2014 were surveyed. The course consisted of clinical observation of UGRA procedures, didactic lectures, ultrasound scanning, hands-on perineural catheter placement, and mannequin simulation. The primary outcome was the average number of UGRA blocks per month reported at follow-up versus baseline. Secondary outcomes included preference for ultrasound as the nerve localization technique, ratings of UGRA teaching methods, and obstacles to performing UGRA. RESULTS: Survey data from 46 course participants (60% response rate) were included for analysis. Participants were (median [10th-90th percentile]) 50 (37-63) years old, had been in practice for 17 (5-30) years, and were surveyed 27 (10-34) months after their UGRA training. Participants reported performing 24 (4-90) blocks per month at follow-up compared to 10 (2-24) blocks at baseline (P < 0.001). Compared to baseline, more participants at follow-up preferred ultrasound for nerve localization. The major obstacle to implementing UGRA in clinical practice was time pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a 1 day simulation-based UGRA course may increase UGRA procedural volume by practicing anesthesiologists.

Comparative Echogenicity of an Epidural Catheter and 2 New Catheters Designed for Ultrasound-Guided Continuous Peripheral Nerve Blocks.

Visualization of the catheter during ultrasound-guided continuous nerve block performance may be difficult but is an essential skill for regional anesthesiologists. The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate 2 newer catheters designed for enhanced echogenicity and compare them to a widely used catheter not purposely designed for ultrasound guidance. Outcomes were the numbers of first-place rankings among all 3 catheters and scores on individual echogenicity criteria as assessed by 2 blinded reviewers. Catheters designed for echogenicity are not superior to an older regional anesthesia catheter, and results suggest that catheter preference for ultrasound-guided placement may be subjective.

A matched case-control comparison of hospital costs and outcomes for knee replacement patients admitted postoperatively to acute care versus rehabilitation.

For select total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients, we have established an alternative pathway to bypass the acute care surgical ward and directly admit patients from the post-anesthesia care unit to on-campus rehabilitation. We retrospectively examined whether this 'fast track' pathway decreased costs and improved patient outcomes. After reviewing records of consecutive primary unilateral TKA patients over a 15-month period, each patient admitted to rehabilitation was matched with a control admitted to the acute care ward. The primary outcome was estimated total hospitalization cost (length of stay in days multiplied by the average cost per day). Secondary outcomes were length of stay, in-hospital pain scores, opioid use, maximum ambulatory distance and 30-day readmission, morbidity, and mortality. Of the 262 TKA patients during the study period, 14 were admitted to rehabilitation and were matched to 14 patients admitted to acute care. Estimated total hospitalization cost [median (10th-90th percentiles)] was US$30,755 (US$23,066-38,444) for ward patients compared to US$17,620 (US$13,215-33,918) for rehabilitation patients (P = 0.006). This difference [mean (95% CI)] was US$10,143 (US$2174-18,112). There were no other differences. For facilities similar to ours, direct postoperative admission of select TKA patients to subacute rehabilitation may be less costly than acute care and may not negatively affect outcomes.

Adherence to a Multimodal Analgesic Clinical Pathway: A Within-Group Comparison of Staged Bilateral Knee Arthroplasty Patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Multimodal analgesic clinical pathways for joint replacement patients often include perineural catheters, but long-term adherence to these pathways has not yet been investigated. Our primary aim was to determine adherence rate to a knee arthroplasty clinical pathway for patients undergoing staged bilateral procedures. METHODS: This study was performed at a hospital with a Perioperative Surgical Home program and knee arthroplasty clinical pathway using multimodal analgesia and adductor canal catheters. Data were examined for all orthopedic surgery patients over a 4-year period. We included patients who had staged bilateral knee arthroplasty electively scheduled on 2 separate dates. The primary outcome was rate of adductor canal catheter utilization as a measure of adherence to the clinical pathway. Other outcomes included rates of neuraxial anesthesia and minor and major perioperative complications. RESULTS: We analyzed data for 103 unique patients. The interval between surgeries was a median of 261 days (10th-90th percentile, 138-534 days). All 103 patients had adductor canal catheters for both the first and second surgeries (P > 0.999). Forty-one percent of patients had the same surgeon for both surgeries, but only 2% had the same anesthesiologist (P < 0.001). From the first to the second surgery, utilization of neuraxial anesthesia increased from 51% to 68%, respectively (P = 0.005). There were no differences in minor or major complications. CONCLUSIONS: For staged bilateral knee arthroplasty patients, 100% clinical pathway adherence including perineural catheters and multimodal analgesia is feasible despite multiple variables. We believe that patient-centered acute pain management requires consistent and reliable delivery of care.

Randomized comparison of popliteal-sciatic perineural catheter tip migration and dislocation in a cadaver model using two catheter designs.

BACKGROUND: New catheter-over-needle (CON) technology for continuous peripheral nerve blockade has emerged, but its effect on the risk of perineural catheter tip dislocation is unknown. Less flexible catheters may be more likely to migrate away from the nerve with simulated patient movement. In the present study, we evaluated catheter tip migration between CON catheters and traditional catheter-through-needle (CTN) catheters during ultrasound-guided short-axis in-plane (SAX-IP) insertion. METHODS: We evaluated the migration of popliteal-sciatic catheters in a prone, unembalmed male cadaver. Thirty catheter placement trials were divided randomly into two groups based on the catheter type: CON or CTN. A single anesthesiology resident placed the catheters by SAX-IP insertion, and the catheters were then examined by ultrasound before and after ipsilateral knee range of motion (ROM) exercises (0°-130° flexion). A blinded expert regional anesthesiologist performed caliper measurements on the ultrasound images before and after the ROM exercises. The primary outcome was the change in distance from the catheter tip to the center of the nerve (cm) between before and after the ROM exercises. RESULTS: The change in the tip-to-nerve distance (median [10th-90th percentile]) was 0.06 (-0.16 to 0.23) cm for the CTN catheter and 0.00 (-0.12 to 0.69) for the CON catheter (P = 0.663). However, there was a statistically significant increase in dislocation out of the nerve compartment for the CON catheter (4/15; 0/15 for CTN) (P = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Although the use of different catheter designs had no effect on the change in the measured migration distance of popliteal-sciatic catheters, 27% of the CON catheters were dislocated out of the nerve compartment. These results may influence the choice of catheter design when using SAX-IP perineural catheter insertion.

Availability and Readability of Online Patient Education Materials Regarding Regional Anesthesia Techniques for Perioperative Pain Management.

OBJECTIVE: Patient education materials (PEM) should be written at a sixth-grade reading level or lower. We evaluated the availability and readability of online PEM related to regional anesthesia and compared the readability and content of online PEM produced by fellowship and nonfellowship institutions. METHODS: With IRB exemption, we constructed a cohort of online regional anesthesia PEM by searching Websites from North American academic medical centers supporting a regional anesthesiology and acute pain medicine fellowships and used a standardized Internet search engine protocol to identify additional nonfellowship Websites with regional anesthesia PEM based on relevant keywords. Readability metrics were calculated from PEM using the TextStat 0.1.4 textual analysis package for Python 2.7 and compared between institutions with and without a fellowship program. The presence of specific descriptive PEM elements related to regional anesthesia was also compared between groups. RESULTS: PEM from 17 fellowship and 15 nonfellowship institutions were included in analyses. The mean (SD) Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for PEM from the fellowship group was 13.8 (2.9) vs 10.8 (2.0) for the nonfellowship group (p = 0.002). We observed no other differences in readability metrics between fellowship and nonfellowship institutions. Fellowship-based PEM less commonly included descriptions of the following risks: local anesthetic systemic toxicity (p = 0.033) and injury due to an insensate extremity (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Available online PEM related to regional anesthesia are well above the recommended reading level. Further, fellowship-based PEM posted are at a higher reading level than PEM posted by nonfellowship institutions and are more likely to omit certain risk descriptions.

The Perioperative Surgical Home model facilitates change implementation in anesthetic technique within a clinical pathway for total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The challenge of knowledge translation in medical settings is well known, and implementing change in clinical practice can take years. For the increasing number total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients annually, there is ample evidence to endorse neuraxial anesthesia over general anesthesia. The rate of adoption of this practice, however, is slow at the current time. We hypothesized that a Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model facilitates rapid change implementation in anesthesia. METHODS: The PSH clinical pathways workgroup at a tertiary care Veterans Affairs hospital embarked on a 5-month process of changing the preferred anesthetic technique for patients undergoing TKA. This process involved multiple sequential steps: literature review; development of a work document; training of staff; and prospective collection of data. To assess the impact of this change, we examined data 6 months before (PRE, n=90) and after (POST) change implementation (n=128), and our primary outcome was the overall proportion of spinal anesthesia usage for each 6 month period. Secondary outcomes included minor and major complications associated with anesthetic technique. RESULTS: Over a period of one year, there was an increase in the proportion of patients who received spinal anesthesia (13% vs. 63%, p<0.001). For the following year, 53-92% of TKA patients per month received spinal anesthesia. There were no differences in major complications. CONCLUSION: Rapid and sustained change implementation in clinical anesthesia practice based on emerging evidence is feasible. IMPLICATIONS: Perioperative Surgical Home model may facilitate rapid change implementation in surgical care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Cohort study, Level 2.

A comparison of strength for two continuous peripheral nerve block catheter dressings.

BACKGROUND: Despite the benefits of continuous peripheral nerve blocks, catheter dislodgment remains a major problem, especially in the ambulatory setting. However, catheter dressing techniques to prevent such dislodgment have not been studied rigorously. We designed this simulation study to test the strength of two commercially available catheter dressings. METHODS: Using a cadaver model, we randomly assigned 20 trials to one of two dressing techniques applied to the lateral thigh: 1) clear adhesive dressing alone, or 2) clear adhesive dressing with an anchoring device. Using a digital luggage scale attached to a loop secured by the dressing, the same investigator applied steadily increasing force with a downward trajectory towards the floor until the dressing was removed or otherwise disrupted. RESULTS: The weight, measured (median [10th-90th percentile]) at the time of dressing disruption or removal, was 1.5 kg (1.3-1.8 kg) with no anchoring device versus 4.9 kg (3.7-6.5 kg) when the dressing included an anchoring device (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Based on this simulation study, using an anchoring device may help prevent perineural catheter dislodgement and therefore premature disruption of continuous nerve block analgesia.