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.

Intraoperative Deaths: Who, Why, and Can We Prevent Them?

INTRODUCTION: Intraoperative deaths (IODs) are rare but catastrophic. We systematically analyzed IODs to identify clinical and patient safety patterns. METHODS: IODs in a large academic center between 2015 and 2019 were included. Perioperative details were systematically reviewed, focusing on (1) identifying phenotypes of IOD, (2) describing emerging themes immediately preceding cardiac arrest, and (3) suggesting interventions to mitigate IOD in each phenotype. RESULTS: Forty-one patients were included. Three IOD phenotypes were identified: trauma (T), nontrauma emergency (NT), and elective (EL) surgery patients, each with 2 sub-phenotypes (e.g., ELm and ELv for elective surgery with medical arrests or vascular injury and bleeding, respectively). In phenotype T, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated before incision in 42%, resuscitative thoracotomy was performed in 33%, and transient return of spontaneous circulation was achieved in 30% of patients. In phenotype NT, ruptured aortic aneurysms accounted for half the cases, and median blood product utilization was 2,694 mL. In phenotype ELm, preoperative evaluation did not include electrocardiogram in 12%, cardiac consultation in 62%, stress test in 87%, and chest x-ray in 37% of patients. In phenotype ELv, 83% had a single peripheral intravenous line, and vascular injury was almost always followed by escalation in monitoring (e.g., central/arterial line), alert to the blood bank, and call for surgical backup. CONCLUSIONS: We have created a framework for IOD that can help with intraoperative safety and quality analysis. Focusing on interventions that address appropriateness versus futility in care in phenotypes T and NT, and on prevention and mitigation of intraoperative vessel injury (e.g., intraoperative rescue team) or preoperative optimization in phenotype EL may help prevent IODs.

Description and Impact of a Comprehensive Multispecialty Multidisciplinary Intervention to Decrease Opioid Prescribing in Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Diversion of excess prescription opioids contributes to the opioid epidemic. We sought to describe and study the impact of a comprehensive departmental initiative to decrease opioid prescribing in surgery. METHODS: A multispecialty multidisciplinary initiative was designed to change the culture of postoperative opioid prescribing, including: consensus-built opioid guidelines for 42 procedures from 11 specialties, provider-focused posters displayed in all surgical units, patient opioid/pain brochures setting expectations, and educational seminars to residents, advanced practice providers, residents and nurses. Pre- (April 2016-March 2017) versu post-initiative (April 2017-May 2018) analyses of opioid prescribing at discharge [median oral morphine equivalent (OME)] were performed at the specialty, prescriber, patient, and procedure levels. Refill prescriptions within 3 months were also studied. RESULTS: A total of 23,298 patients were included (11,983 pre-; 11,315 post-initiative). Post-initiative, the median OME significantly decreased for 10 specialties (all P values < 0.001), the percentage of patients discharged without opioids increased from 35.7% to 52.5% (P < 0.001), and there was no change in opioids refills (0.07% vs 0.08%, P = 0.9). Similar significant decreases in OME were observed when the analyses were performed at the provider and individual procedure levels. Patient-level analyses showed that the preinitiative race/sex disparities in opioid-prescribing disappeared post-initiative. CONCLUSION: We describe a comprehensive multi-specialty intervention that successfully reduced prescribed opioids without increase in refills and decreased sex/race prescription disparities.

Care coordination for children and youth with special health care needs: a descriptive, multisite study of activities, personnel costs, and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Objectives included testing use of the care-coordination measurement tool in pediatric primary care practices; describing care-coordination activities for children and youth that occur in primary care practices; assessing the relationship of care-coordination activities in the medical home with outcomes related to resource use; and measuring the direct personnel costs of care-coordination activities. METHODS: Six general pediatric practices were selected, representing a diverse range of sizes, locations, patient demographics, and care-coordination activity model types. The care-coordination measurement tool was used over a period of 8 months in 2003 to record all of the nonreimbursable care-coordination activity encounters performed by any office-based personnel. The tool enabled recording of activities, resources-use outcomes, and time. Cost of personnel performing care-coordination activities was derived by extrapolation from the time spent. RESULTS: Care-coordination activity services were used by patients of all complexity levels. Children and youth with special health care needs with acute-onset, family-based psychosocial problems experienced 14% of the care-coordination activity encounters and used 21% of the care-coordination activities minutes. Children and youth without special health care needs, without complicating family psychosocial problems, received 50% of the encounters and used 36% of the care-coordination activity minutes. The average cost per care-coordination activity encounter varied from $4.39 to $12.86, with an overall mean of $7.78. A principal cost driver seemed to be the percentage of care-coordination activities performed by physicians. Office-based nurses prevented a large majority of emergency department visits and episodic office visits. CONCLUSIONS: Care-coordination activity was assessed at the practice level, and the care-coordination measurement tool was used successfully during the operations of typical, pediatric, primary care settings. The presence of acute, family-based social stressors was a significant driver of need for care-coordination activities. A high proportion of dependence on care-coordination performed by physicians led to increased costs. Office-based nurses providing care coordination were responsible for a significant number of episodes of avoidance of higher cost use outcomes.

Providing a medical home: the cost of care coordination services in a community-based, general pediatric practice.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cost of unreimbursable care coordination services for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in 1 community-based, general pediatric practice. METHODS: A measurement tool was developed to quantify the precise activities involved in providing comprehensive, coordinated care for CSHCN. Costs of providing this care were calculated on the basis of time spent multiplied by the average salary of the office personnel performing the care coordination service. In addition, data were collected regarding the complexity level of the patient requiring the service, the type of service provided, and the outcome. RESULTS: During the 95-day study period, 774 encounters that led to care coordination activities were logged, representing service provision to 444 separate patients. When these encounters were examined on the basis of clinical complexity of the patient, the most complex patients constituted 11% of the population of CSHCN yet accounted for 25% of the encounters. In addition, care coordination activities for these clinically complex CSHCN engaged office staff 4 times as long when compared with less clinically complex CSHCN. Overall, 51% of the encounters were attributable to coordinating care for problems not considered typically medical and included activities such as processing referrals with managed care organizations, consulting with schools or other educational programs, and providing oversight for psychosocial issues. On the basis of national salary and benefits data, the annual cost of the time spent coordinating care for CSHCN in this medical home model ranged from 22,809 dollars to 33,048 dollars (representing the 25th and 75th percentiles, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The costs of providing care coordination services to CSHCN in a medical home are appreciable but not prohibitive. Standardization of care coordination practices is essential because it makes the medical home more amenable to quality improvement interventions. Mechanisms to finance unreimbursable care coordination activities must be developed to achieve the Healthy People 2010 objective that all CSHCN have access to a medical home.