Postoperative Opioid Use and Ileus Occurrence---A Case Control Study

August 5, 2022 updated by: Juhui, Peking University People's Hospital

Increased Postoperative Opioid Use is a Risk Factor for an Ileus After Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery---A Case Control Study

Postoperative ileus (POI) is a significant complication after colorectal surgery, with reported incidence ranging from 10~30%, leading to increased morbidity, hospital length of stay, and thus medical cost. To determine the risk factors for POI is one of the key elements for Enhanced Recovery after Surgery protocol. Increased perioperative opioid usage has been proposed as an independent risk factor for postoperative ileus, as perioperative opioid minimization has proposed to be an effective measure to decrease the incidence of POI. Although opioids are widely used to attenuate stress during surgery, and represent the cornerstone of pain treatment, anesthesiologists are strive to minimize opioid use to decrease opioid-related GI side effects. In this study, the investigators aim to find out the general occurrence of POI in the laparoscopic colorectal surgery and the effects of the postoperative opioid usage on this outcome. The strategies of opioid minimization was also investigated.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

2.1 Study design For this case-control study, all elective laparoscopic colorectal procedures performed at a university hospital between Jan 2018 and June 2020 were retrospectively collected by reviewing the institutional colorectal surgery database. The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Peking University People's Hospital (2021PHB144-001, May 24, 2021), Beijing, China, and informed consent was waived due to the retrospective design.

The anesthesia medical information system was searched for patients aged 18 years old and above, undergoing elective laparoscopic colorectal procedures who received patient controlled intravenous analgesia postoperatively. Patients were excluded if they had chronic opioid use, converted to open, admitted to intensive care unit(ICU), patient controlled analgesia (PCA) regimens other than sufentanil, PCA used shorter than 48 hours, or incomplete postoperative opioid usage record. Patients were followed up until discharge from the hospital.

2.2 Patient allocation Patients who experienced postoperative ileus were included in ileus group. In accordance with the definition of Vather et al, diagnosis of postoperative ileus required 2 or more of following persistent symptoms on the fourth postoperative day and onward: nausea and vomiting, inability to tolerate solid or semi-liquid diet or failure to pass gas or stool during a 24 hour period, abdominal distension and radiological evidence of ileus. Patient charts, including radiographs were evaluated retrospectively. Diagnosis of an ileus was confirmed clinically and radiographically in all cases. The control group (at a 1:1 ratio) was matched by selecting the same range of age (±5 years of age), the same grade of American Society of Anesthesiology(ASA) classification, and the same types of surgery (colectomy, rectectomy, whole colon resection, or others).

2.3 Perioperative management All patients received standard anesthesia protocol for laparoscopic colorectal procedures within Peking University People's Hospital. Patients might received bilateral transversus abdominis plane(TAP) blocks (0.3% Ropivacaine of 30~40ml under the ultrasound guidance) at the discretion of the anesthesiologist in charge.

General anesthesia was induced using etomidate (0.2-0.6 mg/kg) and sufentanil (0.3 μg/kg) and maintained with continuous infusion of propofol (4-6 mg/kg/h) to target a bispectral index of 40-60. Cisatracurium (0.15 mg/kg) was injected intravenously to facilitate endotracheal intubation. Intravenous sufentanil (0.1 μg/kg) was added before skin incision. During surgery, continuous infusion of remifentanil (0.1-0.2 μg /kg/min) was adjusted to keep heart rate (HR) and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) within 80-120% of baseline. Hypotension (MAP < 80% of baseline) lasting for 3 min was managed with a bolus of 6 mg of ephedrine or 50 μg of phenylephrine. Bradycardia (HR < 45/min) was treated with atropine (0.25-0.5 mg). At the end of surgery, neostigmine (1 mg) and atropine (0.5 mg) were used to antagonize neuromuscular blockade, and tracheal extubation was performed when the patient was fully awake and breathing adequately. Patients were transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and discharged when the Modified Aldrete Score reached 10.

2.4 Postoperative pain management Postoperative pain management was charged by the acute pain service(APS). Acute pain or side effects related to the opioid was managed through the setting of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia(PCA) device. Patients received intravenous, intramuscular or oral analgesic rescue only after the PCA withdrawal.

In general, a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device was attached after tracheal extubation. The PCA was set to provide a bolus of 2~3μg sufentanil (1 μg/ml) with a lockout time of 10~15 min with or without basal infusion, 2~3ml/h (sufentanil 1μg/ml), which was set at the discretion of the anesthesiologist in charge according to the patient's age and weight. After surgery, pain score was verbally rated using the 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS), on which 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates worst imaginable pain. Patients could self-administer intravenous sufentanil bolus via PCA (2~3μg, 1 μg/ml) postoperatively as rescue analgesia when the NRS score was ≥4, or as needed. PCA was maintained for at least the first 48 h after surgery.

2.5 Study outcomes and measurements Multiple potential risk factors for POI were considered based on literature review. Baseline factors included age(matched), gender, BMI, presence of major comorbidities (cardiovascular diseases, cerebral diseases, pulmonary diseases, or diabetes), ASA classification (matched), and previous abdominal surgery. Operative factors included type of surgery(matched), length of the surgery, estimated blood loss, total input, time to pass stool in patients' without enterostomy, time to tolerance of oral diet, and postoperative length of hospital stay. Analgesia related risk factors included TAP block, intra-operative opioid use(converted into equivalent doses of morphine, mg/kg), postoperative day 1 (POD1) and total post-operative opioid (Sufentanil, μg/kg), and PCA setting (with or without basal infusion). Postoperative NRS at rest and when coughing were recorded. Adverse events occurring prior to discharge were also collected from the hospital chart.

2.6 Statistical analysis Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS statistical software package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Continuous variables are expressed as mean ± standard deviation(SD) or medians with interquartile range and categorical variables as numbers and percentages. Between-group differences were evaluated using the independent t test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and the χ2 test or Fisher exact test for categorical variables, as appropriate.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

596

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Beijing
      • Beijing, Beijing, China, 100044
        • Peking University People's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

All elective laparoscopic colorectal procedures performed at a university hospital between Jan 2018 and June 2020 were retrospectively collected by reviewing the institutional colorectal surgery database.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 18 years old and above
  • Underwent elective laparoscopic colorectal procedures
  • Received patient controlled intravenous analgesia postoperatively

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Chronic opioid use
  • Converted to open
  • Admitted to ICU
  • PCA regimens other than sufentanil
  • PCA used shorter than 48 hours
  • Incomplete postoperative opioid usage record

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
ileus group
Patients developed postoperative ileus
retrospectively allocation according to a postoperative outcome-ileus
control group
Patients did not develop postoperative ileus

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
postoperative opioid usage
Time Frame: Within 3 postoperative days
Sufentanil(μg/kg) used through patient-controlled analgesia
Within 3 postoperative days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Use of transversus abdominis plane(TAP) block
Time Frame: Before surgery
The percentage TAP block of each group
Before surgery
Patent-controlled analgesia(PCA) setting
Time Frame: Within 3 postoperative days
The percentage of PCA setting with basal infusion
Within 3 postoperative days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Juhui, Dr., Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

April 1, 2022

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

May 31, 2022

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

June 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 22, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 22, 2022

First Posted (ACTUAL)

March 2, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

August 9, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 5, 2022

Last Verified

August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

It need to be discussed within the study group when the results are clear.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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