Is pain control for chronic neuropathic pain after inguinal hernia repair using endoscopic retroperitoneal neurectomy effective? A meta-analysis of 142 patients from 1995 to 2022.

PURPOSE: Neuropathic pain is a complication after groin hernia surgery. Triple neurectomy of the iliohypogastric nerve, ilioinguinal nerve and genitofemoral nerve is an efficient treatment modality, with several surgical approaches. The minimally invasive endoscopic method to neurectomy was specifically investigated in this meta-analysis. Our aim is to determine the efficacy of this method in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain posthernia repair surgery. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using four databases to search for the keywords ("endoscopic retroperitoneal neurectomy" and "laparoscopic retroperitoneal neurectomy"). The NCBI National Library of Medicine, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE Complete and BioMed Central were last searched on 26 May 2022. Randomised control trials and retrospective or prospective papers involving endoscopic retroperitoneal neurectomy operations after inguinal hernia repair were included. All other surgeries, procedures and study designs were excluded. The internal quality of included studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The percentage of patients who had reduction in pain ("positive treatment outcome") was used to assess the procedure's effectiveness in each analysis. RESULTS: Five comparable endoscopic retroperitoneal neurectomy studies with a total of 142 patients were analysed. Both the Wald test (Q (6) = 1.79, = .775) and the probability ratio test (Q (6) = 4.24, = .374) provide similar findings (0.000, 0.0% [0.0%; 78%]). The meta-analysis' key finding is that the intervention was up to 78% effective (95% confidence interval, 71%; 84%). CONCLUSION: Endoscopic retroperitoneal neurectomy can be an effective treatment option for postoperative neuropathic pain relief following surgical hernia repair. Although there is limited reported experience with this technique, it may provide a clinical benefit to the patient. We recommend further prospective data and long-term follow-up studies be conducted to confirm and expand on these outcomes.

In Situ Simulation as a Quality Improvement Tool to Identify and Mitigate Latent Safety Threats for Emergency Department SARS-CoV-2 Airway Management: A Multi-Institutional Initiative.

BACKGROUND: In situ simulation has emerged as a powerful quality improvement (QI) tool in the identification of latent safety threats (LSTs). Following the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 at an urban epicenter of the disease, a multi-institutional collaborative was formed to integrate an in situ simulation protocol across five emergency departments (EDs) for systems improvement of acute airway management. METHODS: A prospective, multi-institutional QI initiative using two Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles was implemented across five EDs. Each institution conducted simulations involving mannequins in acute respiratory failure requiring definitive airways. Simulations and systems-based debriefs were standardized. LSTs were collected in an online database, focused on (1) equipment availability, (2) infection control, and (3) communication. RESULTS: From June 2020 through May 2021, 58 of 70 (82.9%) planned simulations were completed across five sites with 328 unique individual participants. Overall LSTs per simulation (7.00-4.69, p < 0.001) and equipment LSTs (3.00-1.46, p < 0.001) decreased from cycle 1 to cycle 2. Changes in mean LSTs for infection control and communication categories varied among sites. There was no correlation between total LSTs or any of the categories and team size. Number of beds occupied was significantly negatively correlated with total and infection control LSTs. CONCLUSION: This study was unique in simultaneously running a structured in situ protocol across numerous diverse institutions during a global pandemic. This initiative found similar categories of threats across sites, and the protocol developed empowered participants to implement changes to mitigate identified threats.