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Advanced Recovery Room Care - a trial of enhanced care after surgery for patients at medium risk of complications after surgery

Advanced Recovery Room Care – a trial investigating the impact of enhanced care after surgery on recovery outcomes, cost, and cost-effectiveness, for patients at medium risk of complications after surgery

Status
Terminated
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ANZCTR
Registry ID
ACTRN12621000472875
Enrollment
857
Registered
2021-04-21
Start date
2021-03-01
Completion date
2021-11-23
Last updated
2022-04-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Moderate-risk surgical patients appear to have a high incidence of early, often undetected, serious postoperative complications. This affects patients’ wellbeing and produces a high rate of unplanned postoperative hospital re-admissions. This is also costly, and patients unnecessarily fill inpatient beds. A trial of a new model of enhanced care after surgery (Advanced Recovery Room Care, ‘ARRC’) demonstrated that complications were quickly identified and expertly addressed. Re-admission days appeared to be decreased by 80%. Business and economic analysis showed (i) patients could expect 3 extra days at home, (ii) 4000 bed days could be freed annually, and (iii) better care at lesser cost (technically, ICER of -$600/day at home). Freeing hospital beds, and rapid cost savings, are especially important with current economic challenges with Covid. This trial re-introduces ARRC for Orthopaedic, Colorectal, Gynae-Oncology and Neurosurgery, then other specialties, to formally test the apparent benefits. It adds better risk assessment and triage tools. Datasets from patient progress and vital signs are used to improve patient risk stratification and triage at defined timepoints before, during, and after surgery, allowing better and earlier identification of patients (not) needing ongoing ARRC, reducing costs further. A Markov cost-effectiveness model provides the platform for cost effectiveness outcomes (Days at Home V Cost). This work addresses all Principles from a recent national summit on postoperative complications - https://thehiddenpandemic.com

Interventions

Moderate risk patients (0.7-5% 30-day mortality predicted by NSQIP risk scoring) will be allocated to Advanced Recovery Room Care (ARRC). This is a unit which provides extended recovery room-level care from anaesthetists and nurses, supported by surgeons and other specialties, as needed, until the morning after surgery, for a maximum of 24 hours. Allocation to ARRC is based on formal screening tools (NSQIP), and care is largely checklist- and protocol-driven. Specific measurement of compliance

Moderate risk patients (0.7-5% 30-day mortality predicted by NSQIP risk scoring) will be allocated to Advanced Recovery Room Care (ARRC). This is a unit which provides extended recovery room-level care from anaesthetists and nurses, supported by surgeons and other specialties, as needed, until the morning after surgery, for a maximum of 24 hours. Allocation to ARRC is based on formal screening tools (NSQIP), and care is largely checklist- and protocol-driven. Specific measurement of compliance with enrolment and care is conducted.

Sponsors

The Royal Adelaide Hospital
Lead SponsorHospital

Study design

Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Patients are moderate-risk patients (NSQIP-predicted 30-day mortality of 0.7-5%) undergoing elective or emergency surgery and scheduled for postoperative ward care.

Exclusion criteria

Scheduled for Intensive Care management after surgery.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ANZCTR · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026