Educating Anesthesia Providers on Perioperative Ketamine Administration To Decrease Postoperative Opioid Intake

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to increase anesthesia providers’ knowledge ofthe benefits of perioperative ketamine, specifically for patients with a history of opioid use. Background: The opioid epidemic has highlighted the need for alternative pain managementstrategies, particularly in the perioperative setting, where anesthesia providers play a critical role in managing surgical pain. Patients with a history of opioid use often require high doses of opioids and are at risk of inadequate surgical analgesia (Bordi, 2023). Ketamine, an N-Methyl-D- Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing perioperative opioid requirements for this patient population (Rathmell & Dahan, 2021). Methods: An educational session was designed to assess and improve anesthesia providers’understanding of perioperative ketamine. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to evaluate changes in knowledge, focusing on ketamine’s efficacy, safety, and potential for reducing opioid use in surgical patients with opioid histories. Results: The results demonstrated that the educational session led to a significant increase inanesthesia providers' knowledge and confidence in using ketamine for patients with a history of opioid use. The educational session was effective in enhancing providers' understanding of ketamine’s role in multimodal analgesia and reducing opioid consumption. Conclusions: This project highlights the effectiveness of an educational intervention inimproving anesthesia providers’ knowledge of perioperative ketamine. However, a lack of consensus on ideal dosing regimens was identified, suggesting a critical area for future research. Further studies should investigate the impact of increased knowledge on practice change, such as the frequency of ketamine use and retention of knowledge over time.