Developing a business case for a regional anesthesia block room: up with efficiency, down with costs

Larger anesthesia practitioner per operating room ratios are needed to prevent unnecessary non-operative time than to mitigate patient risk: A narrative review

When choosing the anesthesia practitioner to operating room (OR) ratio for a hospital, objectives are applied to mitigate patient risk: 1) ensuring sufficient anesthesiologists to meet requirements for presence during critical intraoperative events (e.g., anesthesia induction) and 2) ensuring sufficient numbers to cover emergencies outside the ORs (e.g., emergent reintubation in the post-anesthesia care unit). At a 24-OR suite with each anesthesiologist supervising residents in 2 ORs, because critical events overlapped among ORs, ≥14 anesthesiologists were needed to be present for all critical events on >90% of days. The suitable anesthesia practitioner to OR ratio would be 1.58, where 1.58 = (24 + 14)/24. Our narrative review of 22 studies from 17 distinct hospitals shows that the practitioner to OR ratio needed to reduce non-operative time is reliably even larger. Activities to reduce non-operative times include performing preoperative evaluations, making prompt evidence-based decisions at the OR control desk, giving breaks during cases (e.g., lunch or lactation sessions), and using induction and block rooms in parallel to OR cases. The reviewed articles counted the frequency of these activities, finding them much more common than urgent patient-care events. Our review shows, also, that 1 anesthesiologist per OR, working without assistants, is often more expensive, from a societal perspective, than having a few more anesthesia practitioners (i.e., ratio > 1.00). These results are generalizable among hundreds of hospitals, based on managerial epidemiology studies. The implication of our narrative review is that existing studies have already shown, functionally, that artificial intelligence and monitoring technologies based on increasing the safety of intraoperative care have little to no potential to influence anesthesia or OR productivity. There are, in contrast, opportunities to use sensor data and decision-support to facilitate communication among anesthesiologists outside of ORs to choose optimal task sequences that reduce non-operative times, thereby increasing production and OR efficiency.

Regional anesthesia in resource-limited and disaster environments: a daring discourse

Regional anesthesia (RA) is commonly used in perioperative settings of developed and well-resourced environments. RA has significant potential benefits when used in resource-limited environments, including disaster, mass casualty, and wartime environments. RA offers benefits over general anesthesia and opioid-based analgesia, including decreased risk of complications, decreased reliance on mechanical ventilation, improved cost efficiency, and others. The decreasing cost of ultrasound matched with its smaller size and portability increases the availability of ultrasound in these environments, making ultrasound-guided RA more feasible. This daring discourse discusses some historical examples of RA in ultralow resource environments, both man-made disasters and natural disasters. Future investigations should increase the usefulness and availability of RA in resource-limited environments.

Effectiveness of preoperative thoracic epidural testing strategies: a retrospective comparison of three commonly used testing methods

PURPOSE

Thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) is a well stablished technique for pain management in major thoracic and abdominal surgeries; however, it has considerable failure rates. Local anesthetic (LA) administration and subsequent assessment of sensory block through physical examination (e.g., decreased temperature perception determined via an LA temperature dissociation test [LATDT]) has been the historical standard for evaluation of thoracic epidural placement. Nevertheless, newer methods to objectively evaluate successful placement have recently been developed, e.g., the epidural electrical stimulation test (EEST) and epidural pressure waveform analysis (EWA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of preoperative TEA catheter testing (LATDT, EEST, and EWA) on reducing TEA failure.

METHODS

After obtaining an institutional research ethics board approval for a retrospective study, we conducted a single-institution retrospective review on all TEAs performed between January 2016 and December 2021. Patients were assigned to one of four groups based on the performed test method to verify the placement of the TEA catheter: no test, LATDT, EEST, and EWA. A TEA was deemed successful if it provided bilateral dermatomal sensory block to ice test in the postoperative period, and was used for patient analgesia for at least 24 hr.

RESULTS

One thousand two hundred and forty-one patients submitted to preoperative TEA were included. Twenty-eight patients were excluded. Tested and untested epidurals had failure rates of 3.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8 to 6.2) and 11.5% (95% CI, 5.2 to 17.1), respectively (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Objective preoperative testing after placement of thoracic epidurals was associated with a reduction in failure rates.

A Retrospective Analysis Investigating Whether Case Volume Experience of the Anesthesiologist Correlates with Intraoperative Efficiency for Joint Arthroplasty

The objective of this retrospective study was to determine if there was an association between anesthesiology experience (e.g. historic case volume) and operating room (OR) efficiency times for lower extremity joint arthroplasty cases. The primary outcome was time from patient in the OR to anesthesia ready (i.e. after spinal or general anesthesia induction was complete). The secondary outcomes included time from anesthesia ready to surgical incision, and time from incision to closing completed. Mixed effects linear regression was performed, in which the random effect was the anesthesiology attending provider. There were 4,575 patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty included. There were 82 unique anesthesiology providers, in which the median [quartile] frequency of cases performed was 79 [45, 165]. On multivariable mixed effects linear regression - in which the primary independent variable (anesthesiologist case volume history for joint arthroplasty anesthesia) was log-transformed - the estimate for log-transformed case volume was - 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI] -1.62, -0.20, P = 0.01). When modeling time from incision to closure complete, the estimate for log-transformed case volume was - 2.07 (95% -3.54, -0.06, P = 0.01). Thus, when comparing anesthesiologists with median case volume (79 cases) versus those with the lowest case volume (10 cases), the predicted difference in times added up to only approximately 6 min. If the purpose of faster anesthesia workflows was to open up more OR time to increase surgical volume in a given day, this study does not support the supposition that anesthesiologists with higher joint arthroplasty case volume would improve throughput.

Regional Anesthesia in Upper-Limb Surgery

BACKGROUND

Local and regional anesthesia is associated with numerous clinical and institutional advantages relative to general anesthesia. As anesthesiologists and surgeons increasingly integrate local and regional anesthesia into their clinical practice, an understanding of the principles, evolution, and trends underpinning modern anesthetic techniques continues to be relevant.

METHODS

A review of the literature in databases Medline, PubMed, and EMBASE identified recent developments, ongoing trends, and historical milestones in upper-limb regional anesthesia.

RESULTS

Advances in regional anesthetic techniques in the last century have led to reduced postoperative pain, improved safety, and improved outcomes in upper-limb surgery. The development of ultrasound-guided techniques, as well as pharmacological advances in local anesthetic drugs and adjuncts, has further advanced the role of regional anesthesia. Wide-awake local anesthesia with no tourniquet has allowed certain procedures to be performed on select patients in outpatient and low-resource settings.

CONCLUSIONS

This review provides an overview of local and regional anesthesia in the upper-limb from its historical origins to its contemporary applications in upper-limb surgery, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Impact of Peripheral Nerve Block on the Quality of Care After Ankle Fracture Surgery: A Quality Improvement Study

OBJECTIVES

To increase peripheral nerve block (PNB) administration for ankle fracture surgeries (AFSs) at our institution to above 50% by January 1st, 2021.

DESIGN

Longitudinal, single-center quality improvement study conducted at a high-volume tertiary care center.

PATIENTS

All patients undergoing isolated AFS for unimalleolar, bimalleolar, or trimalleolar ankle fracture from July 2017 to April 2021 were included in this study.

INTERVENTION

Interventions implemented to minimize barriers for PNB administration included recruitment and training of expert anesthesiologists in regional anesthesia, procurement of ultrasound machines, implementation of a dedicated block room, and creation of a pamphlet for patients describing multimodal analgesia.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT

The primary outcome was the percentage of patients receiving PNB for AFS. Secondary outcomes included hospital length-of-stay, postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and 24-hour postoperative opioid consumption (mean oral morphine equivalent [OME]), proportion of patients not requiring opioid analgesic in PACU, and PACU and 24-hour postoperative nausea/vomiting requiring antiemetic.

RESULTS

The PNB and non-PNB groups included 78 and 157 patients, respectively. PNB administration increased from <5% to 53% after implementation of the improvement bundle. Mean PACU and 24-hour opioid analgesic consumption was lower in the PNB group (PACU OME 38.96 mg vs. 55.42 mg, P = 0.001; 24-hour OME 50.83 mg vs. 65.69 mg, P = 0.008). A greater proportion of patients in the PNB group did not require PACU opioids (62.8% vs. 27.4%, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

By performing a root cause analysis and implementing a multidisciplinary, patient-centered improvement bundle, we increased PNB administration for AFSs, resulting in reduced postoperative opioid analgesia consumption.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

A quadruple peripheral nerve block outside the OR for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction reduces the OR occupancy time

PURPOSE

The use of regional anesthesia (RA) for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction reduces morphine consumption, the time spent in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and the hospital readmission rate. However, RA failures due to delays in the induction of anesthesia and its unpredictable success rate (Cuvillon et al. Ann Fr Anesth 29:710-715, 2010; Jankowski et al. Anesth Analg 10.1213/01.ANE.0000081798.89853.E7) can lead to disorganization of the operating room (OR) schedule. The hypothesis is that performing RA outside the OR will significantly reduce the OR occupancy time relative to using general anesthesia (GA). The primary objective was to compare the OR occupancy time between RA and GA when performing ACL reconstruction.

METHODS

This was a retrospective, single-center study of data collected prospectively from consecutive patients operated by a single surgeon between January 2019 and December 2020. The patients undergoing ACL reconstruction were divided into two groups based on the type of anesthesia they received (GA, RA). RA consisted of a quadruple peripheral nerve block (femoral, sciatic, obturator and lateral femoral cutaneous nerves). The durations of the perioperative stages of the patient's journey in the OR suite were compared between these two groups.

RESULTS

The analysis involved 469 ACL reconstructions: 356 GA and 113 RA. The two groups were comparable in age, gender and ASA score (American Society of Anesthesiologists). The OR occupancy time for ACL reconstruction with RA was reduced by a mean of 13 min (70 ± 12 SD vs. 83 ± 14 SD; P < 0.0001) and the PACU time by 41 min relative to GA (P < 0.0001). The entry-incision time was reduced by an average of 8 min and the end-exit time by 3 min (P < 0.0001). The care time in the PACU was reduced from 84 ± 35 to 46 ± 26 min (P < 0.0001). However, performing anesthesia outside the OR (i.e., in a RA block room) did not reduce the turnover time (n.s).

CONCLUSION

Performing RA outside the OR reduced the OR occupancy time by nearly 20% relative to using GA for ACL reconstructions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV.

Regional anaesthesia: what surgical procedures, what blocks and availability of a “block room”?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

With an expected rise in day care procedures with enhanced recovery programs, the use of specific regional anaesthesia can be useful. In this review, we will provide insight in the used regional block and medication so far known and its applicability in a day care setting.

RECENT FINDINGS

Regional anaesthesia has been improved with the aid of ultrasound-guided placement. However, it is not commonly used in the outpatient setting. Old, short acting local anaesthetics have found a second life and may be especially beneficial in the ambulatory setting replacing more long-acting local anaesthetics such as bupivacaine.To improve efficiency, a dedicated block room may facilitate the performance of regional anaesthesia. However, cost-efficacy for improved operating time, patient care and hospital efficiency has to be established.

SUMMARY

Regional anaesthesia has proven to be beneficial in ambulatory setting. Several short acting local anaesthetics are favourable over bupivacaine in the day care surgery. And if available, there are reports of the benefit of an additional block room used in a parallel (monitored) care of patients.

Cost comparison between spinal versus general anesthesia for hip and knee arthroplasty: an incremental cost study

PURPOSE

Wait list times for total joint arthroplasties have been growing, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing operating room (OR) efficiency by reducing OR time and associated costs while maintaining quality allows the greatest number of patients to receive care.

METHODS

We used propensity score matching to compare parallel processing with spinal anesthesia in a block room vs general anesthesia in a retrospective cohort of adult patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We compared perioperative costs, hospital costs, OR time intervals, and complications between the groups with nonparametric tests using an intention-to-treat approach.

RESULTS

After matching, we included 636 patients (315 TKA; 321 THA). Median [interquartile range (IQR)] perioperative costs were CAD 7,417 [6,521-8,109], and hospital costs were CAD 10,293 [9,344-11,304]. Perioperative costs were not significantly different between groups (pseudo-median difference [MD], CAD -47 (95% confidence interval [CI], -214 to -130; P = 0.60); nor were total hospital costs (MD, CAD -78; 95% CI, -340 to 178; P = 0.57). Anesthesia-controlled time and total intraoperative time were significantly shorter for spinal anesthesia (MD, 14.6 min; 95% CI, 13.4 to 15.9; P < 0.001; MD, 15.9; 95% CI, 11.0 to 20.9; P < 0.001, respectively). There were no significant differences in complications.

CONCLUSION

Spinal anesthesia in the context of a dedicated block room reduced both anesthesia-controlled time and total OR time. This did not translate into a reduction in incremental cost in the spinal anesthesia group.

Rapid implementation of an outpatient arthroplasty care pathway: a COVID-19-driven quality improvement initiative

Background

Hip and knee total joint arthroplasty (TJA) procedures are two of the most common inpatient surgical procedures worldwide. Outpatient TJA has emerged as a feasible option. COVID-19 caused significant constraints on inpatient surgical resources and contributed to a growing surgical backlog. We present a quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed at adding an outpatient TJA pathway to our pre-existing inpatient TJA programme, with the target of performing 25% of our primary TJA as outpatients.

Methods

This was a QI study at a tertiary level arthroplasty centre. To achieve our aim, a patient-centred needs analysis revealed the need to develop patient selection criteria, perform a specific and tailored anaesthetic, provide patient education and conduct virtual care follow-up. Based on these findings, an outpatient TJA intervention bundle was developed and implemented.

Results

After implementing the outpatient pathway, 65 patients were scheduled for outpatient TJA. Fifty-five (84.6%) patients were successfully discharged home on the day of surgery. Successful outpatient TJA accounted for 33.3% of all primary TJAs performed at our intuition throughout the study period. There was excellent adherence to the intervention protocols, with the success hinging on multidisciplinary team and supported QI culture. Thirty-day emergency department visits for inpatient and outpatient TJAs were 8.93% and 6.15%, respectively. No outpatient TJA patients required hospital readmission within 30 days.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that implementation of an outpatient TJA pathway in response to inpatient resource constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic is feasible. The findings of this report will be of interest to surgical centres facing surgical backlog and constraints on inpatient resources during and after the pandemic.