Perfecting the surgical journey.

The ERAS Cardiac Newsletter provides insight into current topics on enhanced recovery, new developments and research, Society news, as well as information on recent publications and upcoming meetings.

Highlights of the May 2023 Newsletter:

• ERAS Cardiac “Turnkey Order Set” Session at the AATS 2023 Annual Meeting
• Pharmacologic preconditioning
• Cryo nerve block for analgesia after sternotomy.
• Point-of-care viscoelastic testing to improve transfusion practices.
• Tackling perioperative anxiety
• Recent ERAS-related publications and upcoming meetings

Editor: Rawn Salenger MD

From the website:

"Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) programs promote patient safety and faster post-surgical recovery. The first standardized ERAS protocol was developed in Europe for colorectal surgery in 1997. ERAS pathways for other specialties followed, but due to the complexities of heart and vascular surgery, ERAS cardiac programs had been unsuccessful—until a NAPA anesthesiologist, a cardiac surgeon, and a nurse educator at WakeMed Heart & Vascular, the cardiac practice at the not-for-profit regional WakeMed health system serving Raleigh, North Carolina, made it their mission to develop the first ERAS cardiac program in the U.S.

NAPA anesthesia leadership and clinical expertise helped transform cardiac care at WakeMed Health & Hospitals by spearheading an evidence-based ERAS cardiac program that produces superior clinical and operational outcomes. While enabling safer surgeries for cardiac patients, the new ERAS Cardiac also saved WakeMed’s Raleigh Campus hospital nearly $2 million in year one. This groundbreaking program demonstrates how NAPA adds value to its healthcare partners, and how small changes in procedures can have a big impact."

Follow the link below to read the complete article.

The ERAS Cardiac Society is pleased to announce a new membership initiative. By establishing a formal membership program, ERAS Cardiac hopes to better engage individuals with a shared interest in continuing to improve perioperative cardiac surgical care.

Membership benefits will include:

- Access to our soon-to-be-launched ERAS Cardiac Virtual Training Center (VTC). This online educational platform will allow users to pursue self-directed learning by accessing high-quality multi-media content from international experts.

- Invitations to virtual webinars and town-halls exclusive to members-only.

- Opportunities to become involved in the ERAS Cardiac Society through participation in committees, invited presentations, publications, and research.

- Access to our full on-line archive of recommended publications on ERAS for cardiac surgery.

- Quarterly ERAS Cardiac Newsletter emailed directly to members.

- Potential discounts on ERAS Cardiac meetings and publications.

ERAS Cardiac Membership is anticipated to be open late 2022/early 2023.

We will continue to keep the ERAS community updated via email.

If you are interested in the ERAS Cardiac Membership, please let us know via our website Contact Page.

The ERAS Cardiac Society is excited to announce that in the near future we will be launching a brand new online educational platform: ERAS Cardiac Virtual Training Center (VTC). The VTC will be an opportunity for healthcare providers, trainees, and patients to pursue self-directed learning about enhanced recovery for cardiac surgery. Learners will be able to browse a comprehensive selection of Modules related to ERAS Cardiac history, care elements, and implementation. Bringing together international ERAS experts, we will create an online learning experience based on a wide selection of high-quality and informative multi-media presentations, pod-casts, recommended publications, and other educational content.

Modules & Topics for the initial ERAS Cardiac VTC launch will include:

Module 1: ERAS Cardiac – Overview & Concepts

• History of ERAS
• Principles of ERAS
• History of ERAS Cardiac

Module 2: Core Elements

• Active chest tube clearance
• AKI prevention
• Delirium
• Early Extubation
• Goal-directed therapy
• Multimodal analgesia
• Nutrition
• Patient Engagement
• Prehabilitation
• Rigid sternal fixation
• Surgical Site Infection Reduction

Module 3: Future of ERAS Cardiac

• Atrial fibrillation
• Blood conservation
• Goal-directed perfusion
• PONV
• Regional anesthesia

Module 4: Program Development and Implementation

• Build your ERAS Team
• Engaging patients
• Facilitating organizational change
• Common barriers to implementation
• ERAS Cardiac Audit

Access to the VTC will be limited to ERAS Cardiac Society Members, another new initiative that we are undertaking.

Click below to learn more about the upcoming ERAS Cardiac Membership:

ERAS Cardiac VTC launch is anticipated to be in late 2022/early 2023. We will continue to keep the ERAS community updated via email.

If you are interested in the VTC or ERAS Cardiac Membership, please let us know via our website Contact Page.