| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BACKGROUND: Many factors contribute to prolonged length of stay (LOS) for pediatric patients in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). We designed this prospective study to identify the pre- and postoperative factors that prolong LOS. METHODS: We studied 166 children, aged 118 yr, who underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, and bilateral myringotomy with tube insertion under general anesthesia. The primary outcome measure was the time spent in the PACU until predetermined discharge criteria were met. RESULTS: The number of episodes of postoperative nausea and vomiting, patient age, and number of oxygen desaturations contributed significantly (P < 0.05) to prolonged LOS. Each episode of postoperative nausea and vomiting (P < 0.05) or oxygen desaturation to <95% (P < 0.05) increased the patient's LOS by 0.5 h. History of upper respiratory tract infection, emergence agitation, and parental anxiety did not significantly predict increased LOS. CONCLUSION: This investigation is the first composite view of LOS in pediatric patients. The significance of identifying patients at risk of prolonged LOS prior to anesthesia is of use not only in allocating PACU resource and staffing needs, but also for improving quality of care and ensuring a minimally traumatic anesthetic experience for our pediatric patients and their families.
Causes of prolonged length of stay (LOS) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) have been extensively investigated in adult patients. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), type of surgery, cardiovascular events, and inadequately treated pain are the most common contributors (1). Seago et al. (2) described a statistical model to predict which adult patients are at risk for prolonged LOS based on age, pain medication on admission, length of surgery, and postoperative cardiopulmonary events, but this model was only able to predict 11.2% of the variation in LOS. There are several unique aspects to the postanesthesia care of the pediatric patient, such as emergence agitation, postintubation croup, apnea of prematurity, and parental presence that can prolong LOS (35). Unexpected postanesthetic adverse events result in prolonged occupation of valuable PACU bed space and nursing staff which can translate into higher hospital costs (6). Along with the recognized expectations for quality anesthesia care, the growing demand for pediatric outpatient surgery and same-day discharge requires a reliable method to identify patients at high risk for prolonged LOS. Previous studies of LOS in pediatric patients have been limited to catalogues of adverse events such as PONV, pain, bleeding, and postoperative respiratory events (79). Other studies have identified individual preoperative risk factors such as history of obstructive sleep apnea and urgency of surgery and their association with LOS (10,11). None of these studies has explored the interaction between these independent factors, nor identified their composite impact on prolonging LOS. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T&A) is the second most common surgical procedure in the pediatric population and is associated with many common pre- and postoperative comorbid factors known to influence LOS. With an estimated quarter million tonsillectomies preformed annually in the United States alone, these findings impact a large portion of our total patient population. The goal of this study was to identify independent predictors of prolonged LOS after T&A. We describe a population-based approach to reducing risks and improving anesthetic care by avoiding unnecessary prolonged recovery in pediatric patients.
This study was approved by the Human Subjects Panel at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Patient Selection We elected to standardize the surgical procedure and anesthetic management by selecting children undergoing only T&A or T&A plus bilateral myringotomy and tube insertion. Limiting the types of surgical procedures and standardizing the anesthetic management allowed the investigators to examine only pre- and postanesthetic factors that impact LOS.
Anesthetic Protocol In the PACU, all patients were monitored according to ASA standards. All patients received supplemental oxygen via blow-by. The PACU at LPCH is composed of one room with no physical separation between Phases I and II. One nurse is responsible for each patient throughout the entire duration of recovery. At LPCH, parents/caretakers are allowed to remain with patients throughout their PACU stay.
Data Collection
Parental anxiety was self-reported on a scale of 110. Although parental anxiety has not yet been shown to be associated with prolonged LOS, these data were included for analysis. Patient anxiety was graded by the admission nurse using the 2000 Standards of Perianesthesia Nursing Practice published by the American Society of Peri-Anesthesia Nurses (ASPAN, http://www.aspan.org). Each patient's baseline vital signs were collected from the admission nursing notes. The choice of morphine sulfate or fentanyl as the postoperative rescue analgesic was left to the discretion of the anesthesiologist. If fentanyl was chosen, the dose was converted to a morphine-equivalent dose for analysis. A ratio of 100:1 fentanyl to morphine relative potency conversion was used to create a dummy variable for additional narcotic administration. This conversion was used to minimize both the number of confounds and the interaction effects in the final regression model. Opiod analgesics other than morphine and fentanyl were not used. The modified pediatric Aldrete score from ASPAN was used. PONV was defined as an episode of frank emesis, dry heaves, or subjective complaint of nausea (older, verbal children). Scores were recorded from the nurse's notes and were the summation of the number of times that a patient complained of nausea plus the number of episodes of retching or vomiting. The number of oxygen desaturations (Spo2 <95%) was recorded from both the nurse's notes and direct observation by one of the investigators (KP). This investigator followed all patients throughout their phase I and II PACU stay. Continuous pulse oximetry monitors at LPCH are set to alarm when Spo2 <95%. Any alarm event, when not attributed to artifact due to movement or removal of the saturation monitor probe, was recorded as a desaturation. Both the primary "one-on-one" PACU nurse and the investigator assigned to the subject confirmed each desaturation event. The PACU record and the data sheet were reconciled at the end of the day to reflect an accurate accounting of desaturations in the data. Agitation scores were graded on a five-point scale that defined the patient's behavior in the PACU. The scores 15 corresponded to "sleeping, awake and calm, irritable and crying, inconsolable, and restless and disoriented" (3). Vital signs, dosage, and time of administration of opiod pain medication and additional antiemetic medication were recorded from the nurse's notes. Duration of recovery in the PACU was measured from time of arrival in the PACU until the nurse's notation of "home ready" in the patient's chart. Discharge criteria from the PACU are based on guidelines from ASPAN; a standard Aldrete score modified for pediatric patients was used. Pre- and postanesthesia nursing scores include the assessment of ventilation, pain, hemodynamic stability, level of consciousness, mobility, and presence of PONV. Sufficient discharge criteria according to LPCH protocol require the return to at least 80% of the preoperative nursing assessment. Both the time of nurse's notation of home ready and the actual time leaving the PACU, if different than 5 min, were recorded.
Outcome Measures
Statistical Analysis
Initially, all pre- and postoperative variables were entered into univariate correlation analysis with LOS using Pearson's or Spearman's correlation coefficient for parametric or nonparametric data. Only those variables showing significant (P < 0.05) or moderately significant correlations (P < 0.10) were entered into the preliminary regression model. Forward stepwise regression was then performed. The requirement for entry into the model was a probability of F change Logistic regression was used to estimate the relative contributions of these variables to prolonged LOS. The regression model used the same model-building techniques previously mentioned. However, only final linear model elements (age, number of episodes of PONV or retching, and number of oxygen desaturations) were entered into the logistic equation. Both first level interaction effects were retained in the model. In all final models, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
We identified 198 consecutive patients who were eligible for study enrollment. From this cohort, the parents of 186 patients provided informed consent. Unscheduled additional surgical procedures limited the sample to 169. Three patients required unplanned hospital admission. All three had a primary diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. Two of these patients experienced postoperative bleeding considered significant enough by the surgeon to warrant admission. The third admission was due to lack of transportation, not a medical issue. None of the three admitted patients had episodes of desaturation or PONV. Data were collected over a period of 13 mo to avoid seasonal variation in URI incidence (Table 2). Demographic information is presented as Table 3.
The mean total LOS from PACU admission until home ready was 106 ± 52 min. Initial univariate analysis revealed that age, PONV, and oxygen desaturation were significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with increased LOS. Preoperative parental anxiety was moderately correlated (P < 0.1). Because the literature reported recent URI and postoperative agitation as factors that could prolong LOS, these variables were forced into the initial model. However, history of recent URI, emergence agitation, and parental anxiety failed to meet minimum entry level requirements (P > 0.05) when entered stepwise and were therefore withdrawn. First-level interaction effect between PONV and antiemetic regimen and the interaction effect between oxygen desaturation and the supplemental administration of opiod were retained in the model. Regression diagnostics were performed. There was no significant collinearity or heteroscedasticity found (Fig. 1). The final model resulted in significant associations (P < 0.05) between increasing age, number of episodes of PONV or retching (accounting for antiemetic treatment), and number of oxygen desaturations when supplemental PACU opiod administration was considered.
The most significant factor was the presence of PONV (Table 4). Each episode of PONV or retching prolonged LOS by
The relative risk of having prolonged LOS with PONV or pulmonary complications compared to prolonged LOS without adverse events can be estimated using adjusted odds ratios (Table 5). Patients without PONV had more than 80% less risk of being in the highest quartile (>75th percentile) for PACU LOS (adjusted OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.0780.537, P < 0.05). Patients who did not experience oxygen desaturation had more than 50% less risk of being in the highest quartile for PACU LOS (adjusted OR = 0.46, 95% CI 0.290.8, P < 0.05).
Our study aimed to address the complex interrelated issues that prolong recovery from anesthesia in otherwise healthy children after ambulatory surgery. This study identified PONV and oxygen desaturation as the two major factors contributing to prolonged LOS in pediatric patients after T&A, with the overall risk of prolonged LOS decreasing with age. Our model accounts for 43% of the variability in LOS. This accounts for nearly half of the factors that can potentially cause increased LOS in pediatric patients. In younger patients, oxygen desaturation is a good predictor of prolonged LOS. Patients without episodes of desaturation in our study required 50% less recovery time in the PACU. Children who undergo otolaryngology procedures are 1.5 times more likely to develop adverse respiratory events compared to other surgical procedures, and this risk is inversely proportional to age (13). In addition to patient safety issues, oxygen desaturations in the PACU, leading to prolonged LOS, expend valuable PACU resources, increase parental anxiety, and negatively impact operating room flow. Interestingly, parents' report of recent URI (less than 2 wk) was not found to be a factor contributing to prolonged LOS in our study. Tait et al. (14) found an association between recent URI and short-term respiratory events (postoperative breath-holding and desaturation), but none of the patients in that study demonstrated long-term sequelae. The authors concluded that children with recent URI should be eligible for outpatient procedures. In our study, patients with a history of URI who were evaluated and cleared by their anesthesiologist on the day of surgery did not develop oxygen desaturation or require prolonged LOS. Patients in our study who did not experience PONV had up to 80% shorter recovery times in the PACU. PONV has been identified in past studies as a cause for prolonged postanesthesia recovery and unplanned hospital admission in children (15,16). Several investigations in adults have shown that the use of more than one antiemetic drug for prophylaxis may be superior to single drug therapy (12). In patients undergoing T&A, the routine administration of dexamethasone significantly reduces both the incidence of PONV and postoperative airway complications associated with airway edema (1719). Aggressive prophylaxis against PONV, including combination antiemetic therapy and adequate replacement of fluid deficits, is indicated for pediatric patients undergoing T&A to prevent prolonged LOS and unplanned admission. Adequate prevention of PONV also increases patient and parent satisfaction after outpatient surgery (20). Our model was able to account for 43% of the variability in LOS, which was significantly more than past investigations. Our focus on a specific anesthetic protocol and one type of surgical procedure most likely contributed to this relatively large proportion compared to previous studies. The inclusion of only pediatric patients undergoing T&A may have limited the generalizability of our results to the overall pediatric surgical population. However, T&A is a common surgical procedure in the pediatric population and is performed in hospital and day-surgery venues. Therefore, we believe that our conclusions regarding the prevention of oxygen desaturation and PONV can be useful to anesthesia providers and perianesthesia nurses in many settings. Identifying the most likely causes of prolonged LOS and at-risk groups before surgery can impact PACU staffing and operating room efficiency. Factors prolonging LOS prevent timely PACU discharges, occupying valuable bed spaces and nursing staff, and potentially delaying scheduled surgical cases. Scheduling of pediatric outpatients requires careful patient selection. A cost-comparison of scheduled outpatient surgery and planned overnight admission has shown outpatient surgery to be less costeffective when the cost of prolonged PACU LOS is considered (21). Our findings suggest that aggressive prophylaxis of PONV and careful airway management can potentially reduce LOS and prevent these unanticipated admissions. Although our statistical model accounts for 43% of the variability in LOS, 57% remains unaccounted for. This finding confirms the presence and importance of individual variability in postanesthetic recovery. For example, a factor such as emergence agitation may affect PACU LOS in one patient but not another for reasons that may be particular to each patient. In conclusion, the safe and efficient scheduling of pediatric outpatient surgery requires the ability to identify appropriate candidates and anticipate postoperative needs. Our study demonstrates age, PONV, and oxygen desaturation as the major factors associated with prolonged LOS, and consideration of these factors should precede the decision to schedule high-risk pediatric patients on an outpatient basis. Focused efforts to decrease the risks of PONV and oxygen desaturation, such as multidrug antiemetic prophylaxis, meticulous airway management by skilled anesthesiologists and PACU nurses, provision of supplemental oxygen, and routine use of dexamethasone to decrease airway edema, can improve outcomes in pediatric surgical outpatients.
Accepted for publication December 20, 2006.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|