Exploring the fundamental aspects of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery nurse's role

Patient perspectives on health care models in cardiac surgery: a qualitative evaluation

BACKGROUND

The implementation of ERAS represents a promising solution to improve treatment efficiency and facilitate patient involvement. This innovative care model aims to optimize recovery processes following surgeries by adopting a holistic, interprofessional approach. At our hospital, ERAS was implemented in minimally invasive heart valve surgery, offering two distinct ERAS models. Additionally, there is also the standard of care without ERAS. The objective of the study is to gain insight into patient satisfaction and perceived differences across these various care models.

METHODS

Patients were interviewed using semi-structured interviews approximately two to three months after undergoing surgery. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis in accordance with the methodology proposed by Kuckartz. Four main categories were established: Preoperative care, postoperative care and communication, patient participation and involvement, and rehabilitation and post-clinical course.

RESULTS

Comprehensive preoperative education and seamless communication throughout the perioperative care journey were identified as fundamental to patient satisfaction and optimal care processes. Patients in the ERAS + model reported higher overall satisfaction with their care compared to patients in the standard of care and ERAS groups.

CONCLUSION

Preoperative education establishes the foundation for patients' subsequent behaviours and expectations regarding their treatment. Physical activity, nutrition, and mental health are significant aspects. The active involvement and participation of patients and their families in the treatment process facilitated superior postoperative care, intensive physiotherapy, mental support, and faster recovery. A functional flow of information throughout the entire care process is vital. Moreover, having a dedicated point of contact had a beneficial impact on patients´ well-being. The integration of innovative ERAS concepts, which encompass interprofessional preoperative patient education and psychosomatic support, represents a promising approach from a patient perspective, offering benefits to a broad spectrum of cardiac surgical patients.

An Evaluation Index System to Assess Nurse Competency in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Programs: A Delphi Study

PURPOSE

To construct an index system to evaluate the competencies of nurses in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs and provide a scientific foundation for their training and assessment.

METHODS

Utilizing a literature review and semi-structured interviews, a preliminary indicator system was constructed. Based on the preliminary indicator system, a Delphi questionnaire was developed and utilized to achieve consensus among experts in two rounds of Delphi studies. The indicators were selected based on a mean importance score greater than 4 and a coefficient of variation less than .25. The weights of the indicators were calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process.

RESULTS

The study developed a system that evaluates the competencies of nurses involved in ERAS programs, offering a reference for their training and evaluation. The final index system includes 7 primary indicators, 20 secondary indicators, and 66 tertiary indicators. The primary indicators consist of competencies in the following components: 1) Direct clinical practice (20 items); 2) Expert coaching and guidance (9 items); 3) Consultation (6 items); 4) Research (7 items); 5) Leadership (11 items); 6) Collaboration (8 items); and 7) Ethical decision-making (5 items).

CONCLUSION

The developed competency evaluation index system is reliable and can serve as a foundation for the selection, training, and assessment of ERAS nurses.

An investigation on the compliance of perioperative practices using ERAS protocols and barriers to the implementation of the ERAS protocols in colorectal surgery

BACKGROUND

Although ERAS protocols have many benefits, there are some deficiencies in their understanding and implementation by healthcare professionals. The present study was conducted to investigate the compliance of the current perioperative practices of healthcare professional with the ERAS protocols and to assess barriers to the implementation of ERAS protocols in colorectal surgery.

METHODS

This cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the surgical clinics and operating rooms of a training and research hospital between January 2020 and September 2020 included 110 physician and nurse members of surgical teams. Data were collected using the Questionnaire for Evaluating the Use of the ERAS Protocol and Identifying Barriers to Implementation in Colorectal Surgery.

RESULTS

The compliance of the current perioperative practices by healthcare professionals with the ERAS protocols ranged between 15.5% (routinely leaving nasogastric tubes in situ following colorectal resection) and 61.8% (being aware of the concept of balanced analgesia). Variables such as the healthcare professional's profession, title, years in practice and colorectal surgery experience led to a difference between them in terms of their compliance of the practices with the ERAS protocols (p < 0.05). Based on the healthcare professionals' comments about barriers to the implementation of the ERAS protocol, themes such as education, teamwork, communication and lack of resources were created.

CONCLUSION

Healthcare professionals' compliance level of the current perioperative practices with the ERAS protocols was mostly low. Barriers to the implementation of the ERAS protocols had a multi-factor structure that concerns the multidisciplinary team.

Implementation of an innovative ERAS protocol in cardiac surgery: A qualitative evaluation from patients' perspective

OBJECTIVE

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols aim to optimize the recovery process for patients after surgical interventions and focus on patient-centered care. In cardiac surgery, the ERAS concept is still in its early stages. Our university hospital has implemented an innovative ERAS protocol for minimally invasive heart valve surgery since 2021. Therefore, our study aimed to comprehensively assess the patient experience within this newly established ERAS protocol and focused on exploring and understanding the nuances of optimal healthcare delivery under the ERAS framework from the unique perspective of the patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

METHODS

Qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed using Kuckartz´s qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The following main themes emerged from the 12 completed patient interviews: 1) information and communication flow, 2) perioperative patient care, and 3) rehabilitation. Patients found the pre-operative patient education and preconditioning very helpful. Patients were satisfied with the flow of information throughout the whole perioperative care process. Most patients expressed a need for more information about the course of surgery. The intensity of care provided by different professions was perceived as optimal. The support and inclusion of relatives in perioperative care were considered crucial. Patients appreciated the direct transfer to the rehabilitation and mainly were able to cope with daily life tasks afterward.

CONCLUSION

In summary, all patients experienced the ERAS protocol positively, and their healthcare process was well established. Active inclusion and education of patients in their treatment can improve patient empowerment. Two further aspects that deserve major consideration in the healthcare process are the inclusion of relatives and interprofessional cooperation.

[The nurse coordinator, a central element in the improved rehabilitation pathway after surgery]

Enhanced Rehabilitation after Surgery (ERAS) is a paradigm involving a new organization of surgical care pathways. Its main objective is to maximize the rehabilitation of people undergoing surgery. It is a multimodal approach based on evidence-based data and high-level recommendations, combined with daily assessment of the quality of the patient's surgical pathway using clinical indicators grouped around some twenty recommendations. This implementation requires the involvement of all professionals involved in the care process. The ERAS nurse coordinator is one of them.

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) Society Consensus Guidelines for Emergency Laparotomy Part 3: Organizational Aspects and General Considerations for Management of the Emergency Laparotomy Patient

BACKGROUND

This is Part 3 of the first consensus guidelines for optimal care of patients undergoing emergency laparotomy using an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) approach. This paper addresses organizational aspects of care.

METHODS

Experts in management of the high-risk and emergency general surgical patient were invited to contribute by the International ERAS® Society. PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and MEDLINE database searches were performed for ERAS elements and relevant specific topics. Studies were selected with particular attention to randomized clinical trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses and large cohort studies, and reviewed and graded using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. Recommendations were made on the best level of evidence, or extrapolation from studies on elective patients when appropriate. A modified Delphi method was used to validate final recommendations.

RESULTS

Components of organizational aspects of care were considered. Consensus was reached after three rounds of a modified Delphi process.

CONCLUSIONS

These guidelines are based on best current available evidence for organizational aspects of an ERAS® approach to patients undergoing emergency laparotomy and include discussion of less common aspects of care for the surgical patient, including end-of-life issues. These guidelines are not exhaustive but pull together evidence on important components of care for this high-risk patient population. As much of the evidence is extrapolated from elective surgery or emergency general surgery (not specifically laparotomy), many of the components need further evaluation in future studies.

A national survey on enhanced recovery for renal transplant recipients: current practices and trends in the UK

INTRODUCTION

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is well established in many specialties but has not been widely adopted in renal transplantation. The aim of this survey was to understand current national practices and sentiment concerning ERAS for renal transplant recipients in the UK.

METHODOLOGY

A national web-based survey was sent to consultant surgeons at all 23 UK adult renal transplant units. Completed questionnaires were collected between May and July 2020. Data were analysed according to individual responses and grouped according to the existence of formal ERAS pathways within units.

RESULTS

All transplant units were represented in this survey. Three units had a formal ERAS pathway for all recipients. Of the remaining units, 65.9% considered implementing an ERAS pathway in the near future. The most commonly perceived barrier to ERAS implementation was 'embedded culture within transplant units' (54.8% of respondents). A fifth of respondents insert surgical drains selectively and 11.7% routinely discontinue patient-controlled analgesia on postoperative day 1. Most respondents routinely remove urinary catheters on day 5 (70%) and ureteric stents 4-6 weeks post-transplantation (81.7%). Median length of stay for deceased donor kidney transplant recipients was lower in units with ERAS programmes (5-7 days versus 8-10 days, respectively). The main cited barriers for discharge were 'suboptimal fluid balance' and 'requirement of treatment for rejection'.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite slow uptake of ERAS in kidney transplantation, appetite appears to be increasing, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era. The current practice and opinions of transplant specialists highlighted in this survey may help to establish nationally agreed ERAS guidelines in this field.

Ameliyat Öncesi ve Sonrası Dönemde Yapılan Uygulamaların ERAS Protokolüne Uygunluğunun Değerlendirilmesi

Amaç: Bu çalışma, ameliyat öncesi ve sonrası dönemde yapılan uygulamaların ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) protokolüne uygunluğunun değerlendirilmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır.Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı-kesitsel nitelikte tasarlanan araştırma, Ocak – Temmuz 2019 tarihleri arasında bir üniversitenin Sağlık Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezinin cerrahi kliniklerinde yürütülmüştür. Ameliyatı planlanan, çalışmaya katılmayı kabul eden 863 hasta araştırma örneklemini oluşturmuştur. Veriler, araştırmacılar tarafından literatür doğrultusunda hazırlanan anket formu, Vizüel Analog Skala ve Bulantı Sayısal Ölçeği ile yüz yüze görüşme yöntemiyle toplanmıştır. Veriler, SPSS 20.0 paket programında tanımlayıcı istatistikler kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir.Bulgular: Çalışmadaki hastaların tamamının ameliyat öncesi dönemde oral karbonhidrat almadığı, ameliyat öncesi aç kalma sürelerinin 10,55±6,91 saat olduğu ve hastalara premedikasyon uygulanmadığı belirlenmiştir. Hastaların ameliyat sonrası; ilk sıvı alma zamanı ortalamasının 10,45±15,44 saat, ilk katı gıda alma zamanı ortalamasının 18,70±29,23 saat olduğu, ilk mobilizasyon süresinin 19,02±21,39 saat, nazogastrik sonda kalış süresi ortalamasının 29,33±28,80 saat, drenin kalış süresi ortalamasının 54,30±28,06 saat, üriner kateter kalış süresi ortalamasının 49,51±27,40 saat olduğu saptanmıştır.Sonuç: Çalışma sonucunda ERAS protokollerine uyumun istenilen düzeyde olmadığı ve sağlık çalışanlarına ERAS’la uyumlu olmayan uygulamalarla ilgili eğitim verilmesi önerilebilir.

[Elective colorectal fast-track resections-Treatment adherence due to coordination by specialized nursing personnel]

Fast-track treatment pathways reduce the frequency of postoperative complications in elective colorectal resections by approximately 40% and due to the rapid recovery reduce the postoperative duration of hospitalization by approximately 50%. Specialized nursing personnel (enhanced recovery after surgery, ERAS, nurses) have already been appointed internationally to accompany and monitor the execution of multimodal perioperative treatment. In November 2018 a fast-track assistant was appointed in the Clinic for General and Visceral Surgery of the Municipal Clinic in Solingen for coordination of the fast-track treatment pathway. The results confirmed that a high adherence to perioperative fast-track treatment concepts can also be achieved in the German healthcare system by the assignment of specialized nursing personnel, with the known advantages for patients, nursing personnel, physicians and hospital sponsors.

Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Phase of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: A Review

Importance

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is a global surgical quality improvement initiative now firmly entrenched within the field of perioperative care. Although ERAS is associated with significant clinical outcome improvements and cost savings in numerous surgical specialties, several opportunities and challenges deserve further discussion.

Observations

Uptake and implementation of ERAS Society guidelines, together with ERAS-related research, have increased exponentially since the inception of the ERAS movement. Opportunities to further improve patient outcomes include addressing frailty, optimizing nutrition, prehabilitation, correcting preoperative anemia, and improving uptake of ERAS worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries. Challenges facing enhanced recovery today include implementation, carbohydrate loading, reversal of neuromuscular blockade, and bowel preparation. The COVID-19 pandemic poses both a challenge and an opportunity for ERAS.

Conclusions and Relevance

To date, ERAS has achieved significant benefit for patients and health systems; however, improvements are still needed, particularly in the areas of patient optimization and systematic implementation. During this time of global crisis, the ERAS method of delivering care is required to take surgery and anesthesia to the next level and bring improvements in outcomes to both patients and health systems.

[Structured Implementation of a Fast-Track Program - How Does it Work?]

Fast-track or ERAS programs can give clinically relevant benefits for patients undergoing surgery. They also have financial advantages for the hospital. Despite these facts, fast-track has been implemented in only very few hospitals in Germany. Neither scientific evidence nor reimbursement regulations explain this lack of fast-track acceptance. It seems however that a structured process of change from traditional perioperative medicine to evidence based fast-track therapy is missing in Germany. In other countries, structured programs for fast-track or ERAS implementation have been successful in many hospitals. This article describes structured fast-track implementation divided into three consecutive steps: organisational preparation, clinical implementation and continuous examination of fast-track adherence, functional recovery, morbidity and postoperative length of hospital stay. Due to its complex nature, fast-track implementation should be guided by external fast-track experts.

Nurses' Experiences with Implementation of a Postcesarean Birth Opioid-Sparing Protocol

PURPOSE

Opioid-sparing protocols have significantly reduced opioid use postcesarean birth through maximizing nonpharmacologic and nonopioid pain management tools. This study explored nurses' experiences with an opioid-sparing protocol at a single institution, where inpatient opioid prescribing was reduced by over half.

METHOD

Focus groups were used to identify key facilitators and barriers to implementation of the opioid-sparing protocol. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) guided data collection and analysis. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, thematically coded, and analyzed for barriers and facilitators using predetermined CFIR domains.

RESULTS

Three focus groups of nurses who care for women during postpartum were conducted in March and April 2019. Fourteen nurses participated. They were all women, with an average of 9.3 years (SD = 5.4) of maternity nursing experience. Facilitators of implementation were: 1) high satisfaction with the intervention's efficacy; 2) awareness of opioid harms promoting readiness for opioid-sparing efforts; 3) adequate staffing and the culture of evidence-based practice; and 4) bedside skills in pain management to identify patients' needs. The most significant barrier was a lack of nurse engagement with protocol development and implementation.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

An increased partnership among the interprofessional team members through all stages of implementation is necessary for the success and sustainability of best patient care practices.

Organization Factors in the ERAS Bladder Cancer Pathway: The Multifarious Role of the ERAS Nurse, Why and What Is Important?

OBJECTIVE

This paper provides an overview of the multifarious role of nursing in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in advanced bladder cancer surgery with procedure-specific recommendations in radical cystectomy pathways.

DATA SOURCES

Electronic databases including PubMed and CINAHL.

CONCLUSION

The growing evidence of preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative interventions and the concept of reacting proactively in ERAS, has led to the paradigm shift in the surgical pathway with establishment of nurse-led multi-professional prehabilitation academies. Moreover, although most patients will recover in real-life at home, there is a need for a change in postoperative and discharge management. Thus, a highly skilled discharge nurse is required to secure a comprehensive, safe discharge plan adjusted to the patient's needs in close cooperation with the primary care setting, family, and survivorship clinic if needed. Limited efforts have been made to evaluate rational principles and goals for rehabilitation after radical cystectomy; an important issue with major patient and perhaps socioeconomic consequences, wherein the ERAS nurse may take the future lead.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING PRACTICE

It has become a governmental demand in many countries to involve the patient and family in treatment decisions and care by using shared decision tools, and to educate and inform each family in concordance with the patient's needs and preferences, and the health care systems must react accordingly. However, to provide person-centeredness care within advanced surgical pathways, there remains a need for thought-leaders, strategic planners, managers, and decision-makers to anchor the process of change and stop "we do it anyway" arguments to defend organizational cultures that are not conducing the evidence-recommend practice.

A simple method to secure data-driven improvement of perioperative care

Background:

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes have been adopted to a varying degree by most surgical departments, not only in Denmark, but worldwide.

Aims:

To report the process from a local ERAS unit in a tertiary university hospital to accelerate implementation of ERAS programmes in all surgical specialties.

Methods:

All surgical departments receive twice-yearly procedure-specific data on length of stay (LOS), readmission rates and death within 30 days, based on surgical codes and the Danish National Patient Register. The ERAS unit and clinical experts review data followed by a clinical audit where appropriate.

Findings:

Setting up data presentation for clinical and nurse leaders has documented progress in implementing ERAS. The combination of outcome data, together with audits have been essential.

Conclusion:

The local ERAS unit has been shown to accelerate implementation of ERAS programmes in all surgical specialties, facilitated by procedure-specific LOS and re-admission data, combined with audit data.