Neostigmine vs. sugammadex: observational cohort study comparing the quality of recovery using the Postoperative Quality Recovery Scale

Potential Neuroprotective Role of Sugammadex: A Clinical Study on Cognitive Function Assessment in an Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery Approach and an Experimental Study

Background

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction affects the quality of recovery, particularly affecting the elderly, and poses a burden on the health system. We hypothesize that the use of sugammadex (SG) could optimize the quality of postoperative cognitive function and overall recovery through a neuroprotective effect.

Methods

A pilot observational study on patients undergoing cardiac surgery with enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery (ERACS) approach, was designed to compare SG-treated (n = 14) vs. neostigmine (NG)-treated (n = 7) patients. The Postoperative Quality Recovery Scale (PQRS) was used at different times to evaluate cognitive function and overall recovery of the patients. An online survey among anesthesiologists on SG use was also performed. Additionally, an animal model study was designed to explore the effects of SG on the hippocampus.

Results

Sugammadex (SG) was associated with favorable postoperative recovery in cognitive domains particularly 30 days after surgery in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement by cardiopulmonary bypass and the ERACS approach; however, it failed to demonstrate a short-term decrease in length of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay. The survey information indicated a positive appreciation of SG recovery properties. SG reverts postoperative memory deficit and induces the expression of anti-inflammatory microglial markers.

Conclusion

The results show a postoperative cognitive improvement by SG treatment in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement procedure by the ERACS approach. Additionally, experimental data from an animal model of mild surgery confirm the cognitive effect of SG and suggest a potential effect over glia cells as an underlying mechanism.

Deep Neuromuscular Blockade Combined with Low Pneumoperitoneum Pressure for Nociceptive Recovery After Major Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose

Patients undergoing major laparoscopic surgery often experience significant pain and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Deep neuromuscular block (NMB) improves surgical conditions and facilitates the application of low intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), which may be beneficial for these patients. This study is designed to determine the effects of deep NMB combined with low IAP, as compared to moderate NMB combined with standard IAP, on patients' nociceptive recovery after major laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery.

Study Design and Methods

This single-center randomized controlled trial will include 220 patients scheduled for major laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery (lasts for ≥ 90 minutes). Patients will be randomly assigned, with a 1:1 ratio, into a deep NMB + low IAP group (train of four = 0, post-tetanic count = 1-3, IAP = 8 mmHg) and a moderate NMB + standard IAP group (train of four = 1-3, IAP = 12 mmHg). If the surgical workspace is inadequate, the surgeons can request a step increase of 1 mmHg in IAP during 3-min intervals. The upper limit of IAP will be set at 15 mmHg. Postoperative recovery will be assessed using the postoperative quality recovery scale (PQRS). The primary outcome of this trial is the PQRS nociceptive recovery (including pain and PONV) at postoperative day (POD) 1. The secondary outcomes include recovery in other PQRS domains at POD 1, and recovery in all PQRS domains in a post-anesthesia care unit, at POD 3 in the surgical wards, at hospital discharge, and at postoperative 30 days. For the sample size estimation, 110 patients in each group (220 in total) would be needed to detect an absolute increase rate of 20% in the PQRS nociceptive domain in the deep NMB + low IAP group at POD 1.

Discussion

This study investigates the effects of deep NMB combined with low IAP on postoperative PQRS nociceptive recovery in patients undergoing major laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery. We expect that this deep NMB + low IAP strategy would improve postoperative pain and PONV following major laparoscopic gastrointestinal surgery.

Effect of sugammadex on the recovery of gastrointestional motility after open pancreaticoduodenectomy: a single-center retrospective study

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the association between sugammadex use and the occurrence of delayed passage of first flatus and oral intake tolerance following open pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

METHODS

We reviewed consecutive patients who underwent open PD between 2015 and 2019; subsequently, they were divided into the sugammadex (group S) and neostigmine with anticholinergics (group N) groups based on the reversal agent used. We performed stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis to adjust for baseline differences between the groups. We compared the delayed passage of first flatus, oral intake tolerance, and other postoperative outcomes between the groups before and after IPTW.

RESULTS

Of the 736 included patients, 309 (42.0%) received sugammadex. Stabilized IPTW revealed a significantly lower occurrence of delayed passage of first flatus in group S (19.5%) compared to group N (27.7%) (OR 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43-0.86, P = 0.005). Further, there was a significantly lower occurrence of delayed oral intake tolerance in group S (18.9%) than in group N (28.0%) (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.46-0.92, P = 0.016).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared to previous reversal agents, sugammadex use was significantly associated with a decrease in the occurrence of prolonged time to first flatus and oral intake tolerance following open PD.

Quality of Recovery after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Following Neuromuscular Blockade Reversal with Neostigmine or Sugammadex: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial

The risk of neuromuscular blockade is certainly minimized by sugammadex in combination with monitoring. However, the effect of sugammadex-aided recovery on patients’ satisfaction is unclear. This study compared the Quality of Recovery (QoR)-15 score, which is a patient-reported outcome, in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Eighty patients were randomly assigned to the neostigmine or sugammadex groups. At the end of surgery, neostigmine or sugammadex was administered, and tracheal extubation was performed after confirmation of a train of four ratio ≥ 0.9. The QoR-15 questionnaire was administered at 1 day before surgery and on post-operative days (POD) 1 and 2. The primary outcome was the QoR-15 score on POD 1. The secondary outcomes were the QoR-15 score on POD 2, modified Aldrete score, length of post-anesthetic care unit stay, post-operative pain, administration of anti-emetics, urinary retention, and length of hospital stay. No significant differences were found in QoR-15 scores on POD 1 (94.4 vs. 95.5, p = 0.87) or 2 (116.3 vs. 122, p = 0.33). Secondary outcomes were also comparable, with the exception of urinary retention (15.8% neostigmine vs. 2.6% sugammadex, p = 0.04). This study demonstrated that the quality of recovery was comparable between the neostigmine and sugammadex groups when reversal and tracheal extubation were performed in accordance with the current guidelines.

Recovery from Anesthesia after Robotic-Assisted Radical Cystectomy: Two Different Reversals of Neuromuscular Blockade

During robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC), specific surgical conditions (a steep Trendelenburg position, prolonged pneumoperitoneum, effective myoresolution until the final stages of surgery) can seriously impair the outcomes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and ileus and the quality of cognitive function at the awakening in two groups of patients undergoing different reversals. In this randomized trial, patients that were American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA) ≤III candidates for RARC for bladder cancer were randomized into two groups: In the sugammadex (S) group, patients received 2 mg/kg of sugammadex as reversal of neuromuscolar blockade; in the neostigmine (N) group, antagonization was obtained with neostigmine 0.04 mg/kg + atropine 0.02 mg/kg. PONV was evaluated at 30 min, 6 and 24 h after anesthesia. Postoperative cognitive functions and time to resumption of intestinal transit were also investigated. A total of 109 patients were analyzed (54 in the S group and 55 in the N group). The incidence of early PONV was lower in the S group but not statistically significant (S group 25.9% vs. N group 29%; p = 0.711). The Mini-Mental State test mean value was higher in the S group vs. the N group (1 h after surgery: 29.3 (29; 30) vs. 27.6 (27; 30), p = 0.007; 4 h after surgery: 29.5 (30; 30) vs. 28.4 (28; 30), p = 0.05). We did not observe a significant decrease of the PONV after sugammadex administration versus neostigmine use. The Mini-Mental State test mean value was greater in the S group.

Recovery characteristics of patients receiving either sugammadex or neostigmine and glycopyrrolate for reversal of neuromuscular block: a randomised controlled trial

Sugammadex more rapidly and reliably reverses rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block compared with neostigmine, but it is not known if subsequent patient outcomes, including nausea, vomiting and other aspects of recovery are modified. In this study, we compared the recovery characteristics of sugammadex and neostigmine/glycopyrrolate following reversal of neuromuscular block. This was a single-centre, randomised, blinded, parallel-group clinical trial in women undergoing elective day-surgical laparoscopic gynaecological surgery, with a standardised general anaesthesia regimen that included rocuronium. Neuromuscular block was reversed with either sugammadex 2 mg.kg^-1 or neostigmine 40 μg.kg^-1 and glycopyrrolate 400 μg. The primary outcome was the incidence of nausea and vomiting during the first six postoperative hours. Secondary outcomes included other measures of postoperative recovery such as patient symptoms and recovery scores. Three-hundred and four women were analysed by intention-to-treat (sugammadex n = 151, neostigmine n = 153), which included four major protocol violations. There was no significant difference between sugammadex and neostigmine groups in the incidence of early nausea and vomiting (49.0% vs. 51.0%, respectively; OR 0.92, 95%CI 0.59-1.45; p = 0.731). Double vision (11.5% vs. 20.0%; p = 0.044) and dry mouth (71.6% vs. 85.5%; p = 0.003) were less common after sugammadex. Sedation scores at 2 h were also lower after sugammadex (median (IQR [range]) 0 (0-3 [0-10]) vs. 2 (0-4.[0-10]); p = 0.021). Twenty-four-hour recovery scores were not significantly different between groups. Reversal with sugammadex in this patient population did not reduce postoperative nausea or vomiting compared with neostigmine/glycopyrrolate.

[Role of rocuronium-sugammadex algorithm in suspension direct laryngoscopy]

La laryngoscopie directe en suspension est un geste chirurgical diagnostique et/ou thérapeutique des lésions endo-laryngées. Sa gestion anesthésique est compliquée. Différentes techniques anesthésiques peuvent être proposées. Malgré les contraintes, les curares gardent tout leur intérêt. L’association rocuronium et sugammadex est envisageable, elle permet une inversion rapide du bloc neuromusculaire profond et par conséquent une réduction de la morbidité postopératoire. Nous rapportons un cas d’une laryngoscopie directe en suspension réalisée sous anesthésie générale dont l’utilisation de l’association rocuronium-sugammadex a permis une facilité du geste chirurgicale, une sécurité pour le patient et un confort pour l’anesthésiste.

Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Hip Fracture Surgery in the Sugammadex Era: A Retrospective Study

Background. Residual neuromuscular block (NMB) after general anesthesia has been associated with pulmonary dysfunction and hypoxia, which are both associated with postoperative delirium (POD). We evaluated the effects of sugammadex on POD in elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery. Methods. Medical records of 174 consecutive patients who underwent hip fracture surgery with general anesthesia were reviewed retrospectively to compare the perioperative incidence of POD, pulmonary complications, time to extubation, incidence of hypoxia, and laboratory findings between patients treated with sugammadex and those treated with a conventional cholinesterase inhibitor. Results. The incidence of POD was not significantly different between the two groups (33.3% versus 36.5%, resp.; P = 0.750). Postoperative pulmonary complications and laboratory findings did not showed significant intergroup difference. However, time to extubation (6 ± 3 versus 8 ± 3 min; P < 0.001) and the frequency of postoperative hypoxia were significantly lower (23% versus 43%; P = 0.010) in the sugammadex group than in the conventional cholinesterase inhibitor group. Conclusion. Sugammadex did not reduce POD or pulmonary complications compared to conventional cholinesterase inhibitors, despite reducing time to extubation and postoperative hypoxia in elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery under general anesthesia.