Decreasing Opioids in Outpatient Breast Surgery with an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Program and Preoperative Education.

[BACKGROUND] Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have been detailed in the literature predominantly in the inpatient setting. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an ERAS protocol with a preoperative educational class on opioid prescribing and patient outcomes for outpatient breast surgery.

[METHODS] An ERAS protocol was formulated focusing on preoperative education, multimodal pain control, and an intraoperative block. The study was conducted as an institutional review board-approved retrospective review. Women undergoing breast reconstruction revision, breast reduction, delayed insertion of prosthesis, tissue expander to implant exchange, and matching procedures were included. The patients were separated into pre-ERAS and ERAS cohorts. Data on demographic characteristics, postanesthesia care unit (PACU) length of stay, PACU oral morphine equivalent (OME) consumption, outpatient OME prescriptions, major and minor complications, and need for additional opioid prescriptions were collected. Analysis was performed with the Fisher exact test or chi-square test as appropriate.

[RESULTS] Group 1 (pre-ERAS) and group 2 (ERAS) each included 68 patients. The cohorts had similar age, body mass index, diabetes status, and tobacco use. Group 1 was prescribed an average of 216 OMEs, compared with 126.4 OMEs for group 2, a 41.5% decrease ( P < 0.0001). The pre-ERAS group consumed an average of 23.3 OMEs in the PACU versus 16.6 OMEs in the ERAS group ( P = 0.005). Fewer patients in the ERAS group required additional prescriptions for narcotic pain medication at postoperative follow-up ( P = 0.116). No differences were seen in major or minor complications.

[CONCLUSION] An ERAS protocol that uses a multimodal approach to pain control and preoperative patient education is useful in the outpatient setting and can help decrease opioid consumption.

[CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE] Therapeutic, III.