LAUSR

INTRODUCTION The objective of this process improvement project was to determine the effect of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) patients with respect to quality of life and pain management in the post-operative recovery period. METHODS An electronic-based medical record ERAS orders protocol for PCNL was instituted at an academic medical center in July of 2020. The protocol utilized a pain control regimen designed to minimize opioid medication use post-operatively. We prospectively evaluated PCNL patients' quality of life via the Wisconsin Stone Quality of Life survey (WISQOL) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement System (PROMIS) at routine perioperative visits. To assess any opioid reduction benefit of the ERAS protocol, we reviewed an age-matched historical cohort n = 66 (prior to ERAS implementation) to serve as a comparison cohort with respect to opioid usage. RESULTS After an inception cohort of 95 patients, 55 ERAS patients remained available for assessment with the WISQOL and PROMIS surveys. In comparison to the non-ERAS cohort, the ERAS cohort represented larger stones, more supine positioning, higher blood loss, shorter hospital stay and more use of access sheath. ERAS patients received a significantly lower amount of opioids compared to non-ERAS patients upon discharge narcotic usage (116.13 morphine milliequivalent (MME) vs. 39.57 MME, p=0.0001). Compared to their pre-operative evaluation, the ERAS cohort had significantly improved quality of life scores at 1 week which sustained through 8 weeks post-operatively. Moreover, pain intensity and pain interference scores were improved at 8 weeks post-operatively for ERAS patients compared to their pre-operative time point. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate that standardizing medications in early efforts towards a PCNL ERAS protocol is feasible and allows for reduced opioid use by patients while achieving early and sustained post-procedure quality of life.