Background: Enhanced recovery after caesarean (ERAC) has been shown to postoperatively reduce opioid consumption, reduce pain scores, and shorten hospital stay. Arguably, none of these measures provide for a patient-centred approach. We believe that patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) represent a more holistic approach to the reporting of outcomes. One such PROM is the Obstetric Quality-of-Recovery Score (ObsQoR-11). This has been shown to be a valid and reliable assessment of recovery after elective caesarean section.
Methods: This before-and-after quality improvement programme studied consecutive patients undergoing elective caesarean section. We implemented an ERAC pathway with the aim of improving quality of recovery and patient satisfaction. Our primary outcome was the change in the ObsQoR-11 score.
Results: A total of 318 medical records were reviewed (n = 93 before ERAC, n = 225 after ERAC). There was a significant improvement in ObsQoR-11 score in ERAC patients compared with pre-ERAC patients (85.0 vs 82.3, P < 0.001). Morphine consumption (MMEQ) was reduced by 10% overall in the ERAC group, with no increase in pain scores at day 1 postoperatively and a decrease in pain scores on day 2 in the ERAC group (P = 0.02). The length of hospital stay was significantly shorter in ERAC patients (63.1 h vs 79.9 h, P < 0.001).
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated an improved ObsQoR-11 score after ERAC implementation. This is the first example in the literature of using ObsQoR-11 in ERAC. We believe this is a more comprehensive way to assess patient recovery and the impact of an ERAC programme.
Keywords: Caesarean section; Enhanced recovery; Obstetric Quality-of-Recovery Score.
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