Introduction: Day surgery is increasing, making efforts to improve safe and effective patient turnover of importance. We hypothesised that the introduction of a simple protocol, dictating that anaesthesia should be induced only immediately prior to surgical incision (after surgical preparations) would lead to reduced duration of anaesthesia and postanaesthesia care unit (PACU) stay.
Methods: This was a retrospective, single-centre, procedure-specific, explorative feasibility study of patients undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Timestamps were collected from the electronic patient records within a three-month period before and after introduction of the protocol at the Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the PACU score, based on the modified Aldrete discharge criteria.
Results: A total of 44 patients were included in the after-, and 74 in the before-new-protocol group. The protocol was feasible in 44/59 patients (75%). The duration of anaesthesia was significantly reduced: 113 (± 26) versus 135 (± 32), mean difference 22 (11-33) minutes, p less-than 0.001. The duration of the PACU stay was significantly reduced: 103 (± 54) versus 80 (± 35), mean difference 23 (6-40) minutes, p = 0.01. No difference was observed in clinical outcomes.
Conclusions: A simple protocol by which total intravenous anaesthesia was induced immediately prior to surgical incision was feasible, reduced the duration of anaesthesia and yielded a significant reduction in the PACU stay. Further studies with a randomised design are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
Funding: departmental only.
Trial registration: not relevant.
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