Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Outcomes in Patients with Prior Diagnosis of Diabetes

Managing Patients Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery to Improve Glycemic Outcomes

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Persons with diabetes are more likely to require orthopedic surgery and are at an increased risk of developing postoperative complications. Recognizing the impact of diabetes on musculoskeletal health provides an opportunity to educate healthcare professionals in standardizing the perioperative approach of persons with diabetes.

RECENT FINDINGS

Elevated hemoglobin A1C, fructosamine, and blood glucose levels have been associated with increased risk for complications in the orthopedic population. These risks can be mitigated by the early identification and optimization of these patients in the perioperative period. Intraoperative and postoperative glycemic management should support efforts to maintain glucose at safe levels while avoiding hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. This paper considers factors surrounding diabetes care in the orthopedic surgical patient. Perioperative care discussed includes optimization, hospitalization to discharge, and special considerations such as steroids and diabetes wearable technology. Hospitals should consider these strategies towards enhancing the care of persons with diabetes requiring musculoskeletal care.

Feasibility of ERAS in Patients With Gastric Cancer Complicated by Diabetes Mellitus

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is the integration of multiple perioperative evidence-based medical practices into a single pathway aimed at eliminating surgical liabilities and improving treatment accuracy to enhance patients' postoperative outcomes. The ERAS Society has been developing guidelines that are widely applicable in the surgical field. ERAS pathways in selective and noncomplicated cases are extensively practiced. However, the ERAS literature excludes patients with comorbidities, such as gastric cancer complicated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Current ERAS guidelines exclude patients with DM in enhanced recovery programs because of insufficient evidence-based medicine on the molecular physiology of the patients in response to surgical insult. Therefore, it is important to implement accelerated rehabilitation surgery for patients with gastric cancer and DM. This review discusses the feasibility and necessity of applying ERAS guidelines to patients with gastric cancer complicated by DM. In addition, we documented the need to lay a logical foundation for enhanced recovery after surgery in patients with gastric cancer complicated by DM.

The impact of preoperative glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) on postoperative complications after elective major abdominal surgery: a meta-analysis

Background

Diabetes is a risk factor for postoperative complications. Previous meta-analyses have shown that elevated glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels are associated with postoperative complications in various surgical populations. However, this is the first meta-analysis to investigate the association between preoperative HbA1c levels and postoperative complications in patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery.

Methods

PRISMA guidelines were adhered to for this study. Six databases were searched up to April 1, 2020. Primary studies investigating the effect of HbA1c levels on postoperative complications after elective major abdominal surgery were included. Risk of bias and quality of evidence assessments were performed. Data were pooled using a random effects model. Meta-regression was performed to evaluate different HbA1c cut-off values.

Results

Twelve observational studies (25,036 patients) were included. Most studies received a ‘good’ and ‘moderate quality’ score using the NOS and GRADE, respectively. Patients with a high HbA1c had a greater risk of anastomotic leaks (odds ratio [OR]: 2.80, 95% CI [1.63, 4.83], P < 0.001), wound infections (OR: 1.21, 95% CI [1.08, 1.36], P = 0.001), major complications defined as Clavien-Dindo [CD] 3–5 (OR: 2.16, 95% CI [1.54, 3.01], P < 0.001), and overall complications defined as CD 1–5 (OR: 2.12, 95% CI [1.48, 3.04], P < 0.001).

Conclusions

An HbA1c between 6% and 7% is associated with higher risks of anastomotic leaks, wound infections, major complications, and overall postoperative complications. Therefore, guidelines with an HbA1c threshold > 7% may be putting pre-optimized patients at risk. Future randomized controlled trials are needed to explore causation before policy changes are made.