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

Steckelberg RC, Funck N, Kim TE, Walters TL, Lochbaum GM, Memtsoudis SG, Giori NJ, Indelli PF, Graham LJ, Mariano ER. Adherence to a Multimodal Analgesic Clinical Pathway: A Within-Group Comparison of Staged Bilateral Knee Arthroplasty Patients. Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. 2017 May 1; 42(3):368-371.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• IIR 13-051 – Development and Validation of a Risk Calculator for Total Joint Replacement

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Abstract:

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.