Cesarean Section Via Enhanced Recovery

Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Cesarean Section Via the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Pathway: a Retrospective Study

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols have been proven to be very successful in specific patient populations. An example is with ERAS for colorectal surgery. ERAS protocols in this patient population have been shown to reduce overall morbidity and hospital length of stay (LOS). At the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the institution has had successful implementation of ERAS protocols for several surgical specialties including colorectal, breast, spine, gynecology, and gynecology-oncology. However, the institution currently does not have a protocol in place for the most commonly performed surgical procedure - cesarean delivery. At UAB, the institution performs approximately 1,000 cesarean deliveries per year.

The investigators believe that an ERAS protocol will be beneficial for these patients. Currently, there is very little data published on ERAS protocols. Although this patient population is ideal for an ERAS protocol, there are several barriers that have to be overcome. The data published show promising results for ERAS protocols with cesarean delivery. A larger tertiary care center showed earlier discharge with lower re-admission rates with an ERAS pathway.

Currently, the investigators have created a multidisciplinary group at UAB to establish an ERAS protocol for patients undergoing cesarean delivery. This group includes anesthesiologists, obstetricians, nursing, neonatology, pharmacy, and informatics. Once the investigators have implemented this protocol, the investigators would like to perform a retrospective analysis to determine if there are any significant changes in our desired outcomes the investigators will study. Our goal is to demonstrate significantly improved outcomes in the investigators' measured endpoints. The investigators believe that this information will be very useful because although there is a national interest in creating ERAS protocols for cesarean deliveries, there currently is very little published on the subject. The investigators would like to publish the investigators' results and protocol as a resource for other institutions to adopt.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cesarean Section
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: ERAS Protocol Implementation

Detailed Description

The investigators are implementing an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol for patients undergoing cesarean delivery. The purpose of the ERAS protocol is to optimize care provided to patients (patient education, nutrition, pain management, early ambulation, etc.). The anticipated date of protocol initiation is May 2018. Once this protocol has been in place for approximately 6 months to one year, the investigators would like to retrospectively review data on these patients and compare outcomes to a similarly-matched group of patients the year preceding protocol implementation. Specific outcomes the investigators will assess are: hospital length of stay, post-operative pain scores, opioid consumption, patient satisfaction [through IRB-approved survey (protocol X300001121)], surgical site infection rates, readmission rates, and unscheduled clinic and maternal evaluation unit (MEU) visits before the first scheduled postpartum visit. The investigators also plan to track compliance monthly with the adherence to the protocol. Since the investigators want to track compliance (both as a quality improvement project as well as research), the investigators are requesting (Institutional Review Board) IRB approval now.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 541

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35249
      • University of Alabama at Birmingham

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients 18 years or older whom is scheduled for an elective cesarean section from one of the participating clinics: Prime Care, MFM, OBCC.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Any patient 18 years or older whom is scheduled for an elective cesarean section from one of the participating clinics: Prime Care, Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM), Obstetrics Complications Clinic (OBCC).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Age less than 18 years old;
2. urgent or emergent cesarean delivery;
3. diagnosis of preeclampsia;
4. coagulopathy that contraindicates neuraxial block placement;
5. abnormal placentation;
6. opioid abuse disorder;
7. type C diabetic or greater.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Prospective

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
ERAS Implemented Group; Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol implementation for patients undergoing cesarean delivery.	Other: ERAS Protocol Implementation; Implementation of ERAS Protocol Implementation
Pre-ERAS - Non-ERAS Implemented Group; Non-Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol implementation for patients undergoing cesarean delivery.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Opioid Consumption	Measurement of opioid consumption in oral morphine equivalents	From 1 to 72 hours post surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Average Pain Scores	Pain scores post-cesarian section will be obtained using clinical data gathered by the care team providing routine clinical care, and asking routine pain score questions. The scale used is the standard 1-10 pain scale, with 1 being no pain or very mild discomfort, and 10 being very severe pain. Thus, higher values indicate a worse outcome. For each subject, pain scores obtained during the 72 hours post-surgery will be averaged to obtain an overall average pain score.	From 1 to 72 hours post surgery
Ambulation	Length of time between surgery and first recorded ambulation. A total of 9 patients are missing data in the electronic medical record and this was accounted for in our analysis but are not represented in the numbers below.	From 1 to 72 hours post surgery
Oral Intake	Time to first oral intake of clear liquids. A total of 9 patients are missing data in the electronic medical record and this was accounted for in our analysis but are not represented in the numbers below.	From 1 to 24 hours post surgery
Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting	Treatment for postoperative nausea and vomiting was assessed using the total amount of ondansetron given postoperatively.	From 1 to 72 hours post surgery
Readmission Rates	Readmissions to the hospital	Up to 21 days post surgery
Foley Catheter Removal	Time to Foley catheter removal postoperative. A total of 9 patients are missing data in the electronic medical record and this was accounted for in our analysis but are not represented in the numbers below.	From 1 to 24 hours post surgery
Postoperative Temperature	Temperature recorded in post-anesthesia care unit. A total of 9 patients are missing data in the electronic medical record and this was accounted for in our analysis but are not represented in the numbers below.	1 hour post surgery
Hospital Length of Stay	Length of stay in hospital post-cesarian. A total of 9 patients are missing data in the electronic medical record and this was accounted for in our analysis but are not represented in the numbers below.	Time of admission until time of discharge, generally not over one week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Investigators: Study Chair: Sara A Lester, MD, UAB Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Division

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 29, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 29, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): June 12, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 8, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 4, 2022
• Last Verified: August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 45678910

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Undecided

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No