Choice of Anaesthesia for Day Care Surgery

Aims and Objectives: To review choice of anaesthesia and anaesthetic management of all day care surgeries performed at our centre over the past 10 years. Results: 8808 cases were operated at our centre over the past 10 years with different modalities of anaesthesia applied as per the requirement of the case. 51.5% patients were operated under local with sedation whereas 44.1% were operated under local anaesthesia only. Just 2.2% required general anaesthesia for major procedures while 2% patients underwent surgery under regional anaesthesia. The incidence of postoperative complication was least with the monitored anaesthesia group (i.e. local with sedation) as compared to the other groups Conclusion: There is an increasing shift of cases which were previously performed with 24 hours or more stay at the hospital, which are now carried out as day care surgeries or ambulatory surgeries. Keeping with the trend, the choice of anaesthesia for these cases has also changed or has been modified accordingly. Cases that previously needed general anaesthesia or spinal anaesthesia are now being done under local anaesthesia with monitored anaesthesia care i.e. administration of sedation only if required and titrating it to individual needs. This has led to cost effectiveness as well as excellent recovery profile for the patients. We therefore consider it to be the best form of anaesthesia for day care surgeries. Shagufta Choudhary*, M.M. Begani**, Dheeraj Mulchandani*** Review Article Bombay Hospital Journal, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2015 173 awareness of the cost of care which includes but is not limited to the cost of anaesthesia drugs themselves. The anaesthetic techniques chosen should have minimum stress and provide maximum comfort to patient in addition to minimal residual effects. A multimodal peri-operative analgesia with paracetamol, NSAIDs, opiates and local anaesthetics 2 should be a part of anaesthesia. Our Experience Abhishek Day Care Institute and Medical Research Centre, which recently completed 14 years in this field, is a dedicated Day Care Surgery Centre. We have an experience in Ambulatory Surgery of over 15,000 cases, over a period of 10 years, which have been done at our institute. Cases mostly include day care general surgery cases like hernia repair, hydrocoe le repa i r , lumpectomy, haemorrhoids, pilonidal sinus excision, circumcision, appendectomy etc. We have also recently started performing Day Care Minimal Access Surgeries including Laparoscopic Appendicectomy and Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy along with Laparoscopic Varicocoele repair etc. Various Modalities of Anaesthesia Used General anaesthesia It can be given in various forms like TIVA or balanced anaesthesia with inhalational agents, endotracheal intubation or LMA, spontaneous or controlled respiration etc. The use of newer anaesthetic drugs, such as propofol and sevoflurane permit greater ease of titration, earlier awakening, and decreased time to achieve required 3,4,5 discharge criteria. It is given for cases like Diagnostic L a p a r o s c o p i e s , L a p a r o s c o p i c , Laparoscop ic Ass is ted or Open A p p e n d e c t o m y , L a p a r o s c o p i c C h o l e c y s t e c t o m y , L a p a r o s c o p i c Varicocoele surgery etc. Local anaesthesia This is the most commonly employed form of anaesthesia for the cases done at our institute. Local anaesthesia may be administered by local infiltration, topical anaesthesia, IV regional anaesthesia or peripheral nerve blocks during monitored anaesthesia care. The advantages of using local anaesthesia include residual postoperative analgesia with the use of long acting local anaesthetics and avoidance of side effects associated with general anaesthesia. However, the injection of local anaesthetic solutions is uncomfortable especially when multiple injections are required. Traction on deep structures as well as the need for patients to remain immobile for prolonged periods of time can be associated with significant discomfort. Finally, many patients find the operation theatre environment and the idea of remaining awake during surgery anxiety provoking. For these reasons, local anaesthetic techniques are usually combined with IV drugs to provide anxiolysis, sedation and supplemental analgesia. In addition, there may be some economic advantages associated with operations performed under local anaesthesia with IV sedation compared with general or spinal anaesthesia. Monitored anaesthesia care More and more cases are now being performed in 'monitored anesthaesia care'. Bombay Hospital Journal, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2015 174 According to the American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA), a monitored anaesthesia care (MAC) is a planned procedure during which the patient undergoes local anaesthesia together with 6 sedation and analgesia. The 3 fundamental elements and purposes of a conscious sedation during a MAC are: a safe sedation, the control of the patient anxiety and the control of pain. The patients undergoing conscious sedation are able to respond to questions appropriately and to protect airways. Last but not least, another purpose of any MAC is to get the patient appropriately satisfied, allowing him to get his discharge as fast as possible. Intravenous sedation begins after intravenous access is secured, cardiopulmonary monitors are applied, and oxygen is given via nasal cannulae. Midazolam, a short acting, watersoluble benzodiazepine, is administered in 1-mg bolus doses for its amnestic and anxiolytic properties. Midazolam, with a 2hour half-life, has limited cardiovascular effects, allows for expeditious recovery, and has no postoperative sequelae such as nausea and vomiting. Fentanyl, an opioid analgesic, is given in the doses of 0.5 1 mcg/kg. It is short acting and potent opioid useful for day care procedures. As with all narcotic agents, respiratory function can be depressed, and the patient may experience nausea and emesis. A bolus dose of propofol 0.5 -1 mg/kg can facilitate tolerance to injection of local anaesthetic agents. Propofol is a rapidly acting sedative and hypnotic agent. Propofol has excellent effects with quick patient recovery. Given in 0.5-1 mg/kg injections that are infused slowly prior to the injection of local anaesthesia, propofol maintains respiratory drive and allows the patient to tolerate the local anaesthetic injections. Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) In ambulatory practice, total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) provides advantages for all short surgical procedures and for ENT and ophthalmic surgeries. The TIVA methods are well tolerated and perceived to give good quality patient care; with rapid, clear-headed emergence and low incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Proprofol and remifentanyl 7 infusion would be ideal. If remifentanyl is not available, fentanyl can be used but prolonged infusion can be cumulative and is best avoided. Spinal anaesthesia Spinal anaesthesia in the outpatient is characterised by rapid onset and offset, easy administration, minimal expense, and minimal side effects or complications and offers advantages for outpatient lower extremity, perineal, and many abdominal 8 and gynaecological procedures. Spinal anaesthetic techniques for common ambulatory procedures highlight the success of combining subclinical doses of local anaesthetics and intrathecal opioid adjuncts. The neuraxial block with shorter acting local anaesthetic agents, specific to the expected duration of surgery, may provide superior recovery 9 profiles in the ambulatory setting. We prefer to give a saddle block with a maximum of 2 cc of heavy bupivacaine (0.5 Bombay Hospital Journal, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2015 175 %) and keep the patient seated for 3 minutes to achieve the desired effect. The anaesthesia is limited to the 'saddle region' and spares motor block to the extremities. Pain relief We use multimodal analgesia approach for post operative pain relief. This includes opioid as well as non opioid analgesics. Nonopioid analgesics are increasingly being used as adjuvants before, during, and after surgery to facilitate the recovery process after 10 ambulatory surgery. Combination of analgesics help to reduce the dose of individual drugs and therefore prevent the side effects. They also act on the different levels of the pain pathway and have synergistic action. We administer paracetamol 1 gm intravenously before surgery. Diclofenac and or tramadol suppositories are given at the end of surgery. The patients are comfortable post operatively. Further pain relief is provided as demanded by the patient. Recovery Postoperat ive ly , pat ients are monitored for cardio respiratory function, bleeding, nausea, and pain. The rapidity of patient recuperation depends on many factors like the length and type of procedure, type of sedation employed and pre existing co morbidities. Patients undergoing surgery under local anaesthesia with minimum or no sedation are the ones who recover faster. They have pain relief in the post operative period because of the action of local anaesthetic, can take their food earlier because of no nausea or emesis and are home ready earlier as compared to patients receiving general anaesthesia or deep sedation. Type of anaesthesia for various surgeries l8808 patients were operated at our centre l51.5% patients were operated under local with sedation l44.1% were operated under local l2.2% underwent general anaesthesia l2% patients underwent regional anaesthesia. lI n c i d e n c e o f p o s t o p e r a t i v e complication was least with the Years L.A LA+ General Regional Total sedation Anaesthesia Anaesthesia 2010 560 756 13 19 1345 41.5 % 56.5% 0.8% 1.1% 2009 547 650 26 13 1234 44.2% 52.3% 2.1% 1.1% 2008 506 626 20 27 1178 42.8% 53.0% 1.7% 2.3% 2007 542 514 18 28 1098 49.2% 46.7% 1.4% 2.5% 2006 419 495 15 28 1098 44.3% 52.0% 1.7% 1.7% 2005 365 451 34 23 872 41.7% 51.6% 3.9% 2.6% 2004 295 329 20 12 656 44.8% 50.2% 3.1% 1.7% 2003 302 268 9 19 592 50.4% 44.8% 1.5% 3.125% 2002 205 244 20 14 485 42.0% 50.6% 4.3% 2.9% 2001 147 213 25 22 406 36.0% 52.0% 6.4% 5.4% 10 3888 4541 197 182 8808