Improved Quality of Recovery from Ambulatory Shoulder Surgery After Implementation of a Multimodal Perioperative Pain Management Protocol.

OBJECTIVES: Pain control after shoulder arthroscopy can be challenging, often relying on opioids. The study aims to measure the quality of recovery (QoR) before and after implementation of a "Multimodal Perioperative Pain Protocol" (MP3) in patients undergoing ambulatory shoulder arthroscopy.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Free-standing ambulatory surgery facility of a tertiary care academic center.

SUBJECTS: Patients undergoing ambulatory shoulder arthroscopy.

METHODS: The primary end point of the study was the QoR-9 score at 24 hours, 48 hours, and one week after surgery. Secondary end points included 1) measuring the quality of pain management using the Revised American Pain Society Patient Oriented Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R) and 2) postoperative opioid requirements.

RESULTS: Data from132 patients in the control group (pre-intervention) and 120 patients in the MP3 group were analyzed. The QoR-9 scores were significantly higher for the MP3 group at all time points, but only met the minimal clinical important difference threshold at 24 hours (13.4 vs 14.9, P < 0.05) and 48 hours (14.0 vs 15.0, P < 0.05) postoperatively. Patients reported better quality of pain management after implementation of the MP3 in the domains of pain intensity, pain interference with activity, and sleep, and they reported the presence of negative emotions up to two days after ambulatory shoulder surgery. In addition, this protocol significantly reduced opioid consumption up to three days after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the MP3 improved the overall QoR and many aspects of postoperative pain relief while reducing total opioid consumption in patients undergoing ambulatory shoulder surgery.