This Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Guideline for postoperative care in cesarean delivery will provide best practice, evidenced-based recommendations for postoperative care with primarily a maternal ...focus.
The pathway process for scheduled and unscheduled cesarean delivery for this Enhanced Recovery After Surgery cesarean delivery guideline will consider time from completion of cesarean delivery until maternal hospital discharge.
The literature search (1966–2017) used Embase and PubMed to search medical subject headings that included “Cesarean Section,” “Cesarean Delivery,” “Cesarean Section Delivery,” and all postoperative Enhanced Recovery After Surgery items. Study selection allowed titles and abstracts to be screened by individual reviewers to identify potentially relevant articles. Metaanalyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled studies, nonrandomized controlled studies, reviews, and case series were considered for each individual topic. Quality assessment and data analyses evaluated the quality of evidence, and recommendations were evaluated according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system as used and described in previous Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Guidelines.
The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery cesarean delivery guideline/pathway has created a pathway for postoperative care. Specifics include sham feeding, nausea and vomiting prevention, postoperative analgesia, nutritional care, glucose control, thromboembolism prophylaxis, early mobilization, urinary drainage, and discharge counseling. A number of elements of postoperative care of women who undergo cesarean delivery are recommended, based on the evidence.
As the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery cesarean delivery pathway (elements/processes) are studied, implemented, audited, evaluated, and optimized by the maternity care teams, there will be an opportunity for focused and optimized areas of care and recommendations to be further enhanced.
The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society guideline for intraoperative care in cesarean delivery will provide best practice, evidenced-based, recommendations for intraoperative care, with primarily ...a maternal focus. The “focused” pathway process for scheduled and unscheduled cesarean delivery for this Enhanced Recovery After Surgery cesarean delivery guideline will consider procedure from the decision to operate (starting with the 30–60 minutes before skin incision) through the surgery. The literature search (1966–2017) used Embase and PubMed to search medical subject headings including “cesarean section,” “cesarean section,” “cesarean section delivery,” and all pre- and intraoperative Enhanced Recovery After Surgery items. Study selection allowed titles and abstracts to be screened by individual reviewers to identify potentially relevant articles. Metaanalyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled studies, nonrandomized controlled studies, reviews, and case series were considered for each individual topic. Quality assessment and data analyses evaluated the quality of evidence and recommendations were evaluated according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system as used and described in previous Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society guidelines. The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery cesarean delivery guideline/pathway has created a maternal focused pathway (for scheduled and unscheduled surgery starting from 30–60 minutes before skin incision to maternal discharge) with Enhanced Recovery After Surgery–directed preoperative elements, intraoperative elements, and postoperative elements. Specifics of the intraoperative care included the use of prophylactic antibiotics before the cesarean delivery, appropriate patient warming intraoperatively, blunt expansion of the transverse uterine hysterotomy, skin closure with subcuticular sutures, and delayed cord clamping. A number of specific elements of intraoperative care of women who undergo cesarean delivery are recommended based on the evidence. The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Society guideline for intraoperative care in cesarean delivery will provide best practice, evidenced-based, recommendations for intraoperative care with primarily a maternal focus. When the cesarean delivery pathway (elements/processes) is studied, implemented, audited, evaluated, and optimized by maternity care teams, this will create an opportunity for the focused and optimized areas of care and recommendations to be further enhanced.
This Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Guideline for perioperative care in cesarean delivery will provide best practice, evidenced-based, recommendations for preoperative, intraoperative, and ...postoperative phases with, primarily, a maternal focus. The focused pathway process for scheduled and unscheduled cesarean delivery for this ERAS Cesarean Delivery Guideline will consider from the time from decision to operate (starting with the 30–60 minutes before skin incision) to hospital discharge. The literature search (1966–2017) used Embase and PubMed to search medical subject headings that included “Cesarean Section,” “Cesarean Section,” “Cesarean Section Delivery” and all pre- and intraoperative ERAS items. Study selection allowed titles and abstracts to be screened by individual reviewers to identify potentially relevant articles. Metaanalyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled studies, nonrandomized controlled studies, reviews, and case series were considered for each individual topic. Quality assessment and data analyses that evaluated the quality of evidence and recommendations were evaluated according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system, as used and described in previous ERAS Guidelines. The ERAS Cesarean Delivery Guideline/Pathway has created a maternal focused pathway (for scheduled and unscheduled surgery starting from 30–60 minutes before skin incision to maternal discharge) with ERAS cesarean delivery consensus recommendations preoperative elements (anesthetic medications, fasting, carbohydrate supplementation, prophylactic antibiotics/skin preparation, ), intraoperative elements (anesthetic management, maternal hypothermia prevention, surgical technique, hysterotomy creation and closure, management of peritoneum, subcutaneous space, and skin closure), perioperative fluid management, and postoperative elements (chewing gum, management of nausea and vomiting, analgesia, timing of food intake, glucose management, antithrombotic prophylaxis, timing of ambulation, urinary management, and timing of maternal and neonate discharge). Limited topics for optimized care and for antenatal education and counselling and the immediate neonatal needs at delivery are discussed. Strong recommendations for element use were given for preoperative (antenatal education and counselling, use of antacids and histamine, H2 receptor antagonists, 2-hour fasting and small meal within 6 hours surgery, antimicrobial prophylaxis and skin preparation/chlorhexidine-alcohol), intraoperative (regional anesthesia, prevention of maternal hypothermia forced warm air, warmed intravenous fluids, room temperature), perioperative (fluid management for euvolemia and neonatal immediate care needs that include delayed cord clamping), and postoperative (fluid management to prevent nausea and vomiting, antiemetic use, analgesia with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs/paracetamol, regular diet within 2 hours, tight capillary glucose control, pneumatic compression stocking for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, immediate removal of urinary catheter). Recommendations against the element use were made for preoperative (maternal sedation, bowel preparation), intraoperative (neonatal oral suctioning or increased inspired oxygen), and postoperative (heparin should not be used routinely venous thromboembolism prophylaxis). Because these ERAS cesarean delivery pathway recommendations (elements/processes) are studied, implemented, audited, evaluated, and optimized by the maternity care teams, this will create an opportunity for the focused and optimized areas of care research with further enhanced care and recommendation.
The rate of elective Caesarean Section (CS) is rising in many countries. Many obstetric units in the UK have either introduced or are planning to introduce enhanced recovery (ER) as a means of ...reducing length of stay for planned CS. However, to date there has been very little evidence produced regarding the necessary components of ER for the obstetric population. We conducted a rapid review of the composition of published ER pathways for elective CS and undertook an umbrella review of systematic reviews evaluating ER components and pathways in any surgical setting.
Pathways were identified using MEDLINE, EMBASE and the National Guideline Clearing House, appraised using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) tool and their components tabulated. Systematic reviews were identified using the Cochrane Library and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) and appraised using The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Two reviewers aggregated summaries of findings for Length of Stay (LoS).
Five clinical protocols were identified, involving a total of 25 clinical components; 3/25 components were common to all five pathways (early oral intake, mobilization and removal of urinary catheter). AGREE II scores were generally low. Systematic reviews of single components found that minimally invasive Joel-Cohen surgical technique, early catheter removal and post-operative antibiotic prophylaxis reduced LoS after CS most significantly by around half to 1 and a half days. Ten meta-analyses of multi-component Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) packages demonstrated reductions in LoS of between 1 and 4 days. The quality of evidence was mostly low or moderate.
Further research is needed to develop, using formal methods, and evaluate pathways for enhanced recovery in elective CS. Appropriate quality improvement packages are needed to optimise their implementation.
Excessive haemorrhage at cesarean section requires donor (allogeneic) blood transfusion. Cell salvage may reduce this requirement.
We conducted a pragmatic randomised controlled trial (at 26 ...obstetric units; participants recruited from 4 June 2013 to 17 April 2016) of routine cell salvage use (intervention) versus current standard of care without routine salvage use (control) in cesarean section among women at risk of haemorrhage. Randomisation was stratified, using random permuted blocks of variable sizes. In an intention-to-treat analysis, we used multivariable models, adjusting for stratification variables and prognostic factors identified a priori, to compare rates of donor blood transfusion (primary outcome) and fetomaternal haemorrhage ≥2 ml in RhD-negative women with RhD-positive babies (a secondary outcome) between groups. Among 3,028 women randomised (2,990 analysed), 95.6% of 1,498 assigned to intervention had cell salvage deployed (50.8% had salvaged blood returned; mean 259.9 ml) versus 3.9% of 1,492 assigned to control. Donor blood transfusion rate was 3.5% in the control group versus 2.5% in the intervention group (adjusted odds ratio OR 0.65, 95% confidence interval CI 0.42 to 1.01, p = 0.056; adjusted risk difference -1.03, 95% CI -2.13 to 0.06). In a planned subgroup analysis, the transfusion rate was 4.6% in women assigned to control versus 3.0% in the intervention group among emergency cesareans (adjusted OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.99), whereas it was 2.2% versus 1.8% among elective cesareans (adjusted OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.83) (interaction p = 0.46). No case of amniotic fluid embolism was observed. The rate of fetomaternal haemorrhage was higher with the intervention (10.5% in the control group versus 25.6% in the intervention group, adjusted OR 5.63, 95% CI 1.43 to 22.14, p = 0.013). We are unable to comment on long-term antibody sensitisation effects.
The overall reduction observed in donor blood transfusion associated with the routine use of cell salvage during cesarean section was not statistically significant.
This trial was prospectively registered on ISRCTN as trial number 66118656 and can be viewed on http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN66118656.
Caesarean section is associated with blood loss and maternal morbidity. Excessive blood loss requires transfusion of donor (allogeneic) blood, which is a finite resource. Cell salvage returns blood ...lost during surgery to the mother. It may avoid the need for donor blood transfusion, but reliable evidence of its effects is lacking.
To determine if routine use of cell salvage during caesarean section in mothers at risk of haemorrhage reduces the rates of blood transfusion and postpartum maternal morbidity, and is cost-effective, in comparison with standard practice without routine salvage use.
Individually randomised controlled, multicentre trial with cost-effectiveness analysis. Treatment was not blinded.
A total of 26 UK obstetric units.
Out of 3054 women recruited between June 2013 and April 2016, we randomly assigned 3028 women at risk of haemorrhage to cell salvage or routine care. Randomisation was stratified using random permuted blocks of variable sizes. Of these, 1672 had emergency and 1356 had elective caesareans. We excluded women for whom cell salvage or donor blood transfusion was contraindicated.
Cell salvage (intervention) versus routine care without salvage (control). In the intervention group, salvage was set up in 95.6% of the women and, of these, 50.8% had salvaged blood returned. In the control group, 3.9% had salvage deployed.
Primary - donor blood transfusion. Secondary - units of donor blood transfused, time to mobilisation, length of hospitalisation, mean fall in haemoglobin, fetomaternal haemorrhage (FMH) measured by Kleihauer-Betke test, and maternal fatigue. Analyses were adjusted for stratification factors and other factors that were believed to be prognostic a priori. Cost-effectiveness outcomes - costs of resources and service provision taking the UK NHS perspective.
We analysed 1498 and 1492 participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Overall, the transfusion rate was 2.5% in the intervention group and 3.5% in the control group adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 1.01;
= 0.056. In a planned subgroup analysis, the transfusion rate was 3.0% in the intervention group and 4.6% in the control group among emergency caesareans (adjusted OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.99), whereas it was 1.8% in the intervention group and 2.2% in the control group among elective caesareans (adjusted OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.83) (interaction
= 0.46, suggesting that the difference in effect between subgroups was not statistically significant). Secondary outcomes did not differ between groups, except for FMH, which was higher under salvage in rhesus D (RhD)-negative women with RhD-positive babies (25.6% vs. 10.5%, adjusted OR 5.63, 95% CI 1.43 to 22.14;
= 0.013). No case of amniotic fluid embolism was observed. The additional cost of routine cell salvage during caesarean was estimated, on average, at £8110 per donor blood transfusion avoided.
The modest evidence for an effect of routine use of cell salvage during caesarean section on rates of donor blood transfusion was associated with increased FMH, which emphasises the need for adherence to guidance on anti-D prophylaxis. We are unable to comment on long-term antibody sensitisation effects. Based on the findings of this trial, cell salvage is unlikely to be considered cost-effective.
Research into risk of alloimmunisation among women exposed to cell salvage is needed.
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN66118656.
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in
; Vol. 22, No. 2. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
Heterogeneity among reported outcomes from enhanced recovery after cesarean delivery impact studies is high. This study aimed to develop a standardized enhanced recovery core outcome set for use in ...future enhanced recovery after cesarean delivery studies.
An international consensus study involving physicians, patients and a director of Midwifery and Nursing Services, was conducted using a three-round modified Delphi approach (2 rounds of electronic questionnaires and a 3rd round e-discussion), to produce the core outcome set. An initial list of outcomes was based on a previously published systematic review. Consensus was obtained for the final core outcome set, including definitions for key terms, and preferred units of measurement. Strong consensus was defined as ≥70% agreement and weak consensus as 50-69% agreement. Of the 64 stakeholders who were approached, 32 agreed to participate. All 32, 31 and 26 stakeholders completed Rounds 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
The number of outcomes in the final core outcome set was reduced from 98 to 15. Strong consensus (≥70% stakeholder agreement) was achieved for 15 outcomes. The core outcome set included: length of hospital stay; compliance with enhanced recovery protocol; maternal morbidity (hospital re-admissions or unplanned consultations); provision of optimal analgesia (maternal satisfaction, compliance with analgesia, opioid consumption / requirement and incidence of nausea or vomiting); fasting times; breastfeeding success; and times to mobilization and urinary catheter removal. The Obstetric Quality of Recovery-10 item composite measure was also included in the final core outcome set. Areas identified as requiring further research included readiness for discharge and analysis of cost savings.
Results from an international consensus to develop a core outcome set for enhanced recovery after cesarean delivery are presented. These are outcomes that could be considered when designing future enhanced recovery studies.
Context: Previous studies comparing transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and opioids for postoperative analgesia for caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia have been performed in the absence ...of a long-acting intrathecal opioid or with intrathecal morphine. In our unit, we use spinal diamorphine for caesarean sections under spinal anaesthesia. We wished to establish whether the performance of ultrasound-guided TAP blocks should be introduced into routine practice. Materials and Methods: Following local ethics committee approval, 53 parturients presenting for elective caesarean section were recruited. All patients received a spinal anaesthetic with 0.5% heavy bupivacaine and 300 mcg diamorphine. The study was completed by 48 patients who were randomised to undergo postoperative TAP blocks with 20 mL to each side of either 0.25-0.5% bupivacaine (n = 23) or normal saline (n = 25). Standard postoperative analgesia comprised of regular diclofenac and paracetamol, and subcutaneous morphine on request via an indwelling subcutaneous cannula. A blinded investigator assessed each patient at 2, 6, and 24 h postoperatively. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in postoperative morphine requirements or visual analogue pain scores between the two groups. The incidence of side effects was similar. Conclusions: We conclude the ultrasound-guided TAP block does not improve analgesia following elective caesarean section under subarachnoid block with intrathecal diamorphine and its routine implementation during utilisation of a multimodal analgesic regimen may not be beneficial.
Highlights • Memory disorganization was related to posttraumatic stress symptoms at six weeks in new mothers. • Earlier memory disorganization with 72 h of the birth was not related to symptoms. • ...Memory disorganization was associated with lack of self-referent processing and pain. • The emotional experience of the birth may influence subsequent memory organization.
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