Abstract
BACKGROUND: Phase I postanesthesia recovery is often prolonged after laparoscopic bariatric surgery. We hypothesized that postoperative respiratory depression is a major contributor to this delayed recovery. METHODS: Medical records of all patients who had a laparoscopic bariatric surgical operation from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012, were reviewed for clinical, anesthetic, and postanesthesia variables. Recoveries were defined as discharge from the recovery room in ≤90 min and in >90 min (prolonged postanesthesia recovery). We compared characteristics of patients without prolonged recovery to those with prolonged recovery. RESULTS: Of 781 bariatric patients, 304 (38.9 %) had prolonged recovery. These patients had more respiratory depression (29 vs 6 patients), more postoperative nausea and vomiting (106 vs 92 patients), more treatments of hypertension in the recovery room (49 vs 33 patients), and more opioid treatment (median intravenous morphine equivalents [interquartile range], 10.0 [3.0-15.0] vs 5.0 [0.0-10.5]) (P < 0.001 for all). On multivariable analysis, preoperative history of hypertension (P = 0.03), fewer prophylactic antiemetics received (P = 0.02), and longer surgical duration (P = 0.03) were associated with prolonged postanesthesia recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate antiemetic prophylaxis and the treatment of postoperative hypertension were associated with prolonged postanesthesia recovery. Surprisingly, diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea was not associated with prolonged recovery, which may be attributable to use of continuous positive airway pressure devices following emergence from anesthesia. Prolonged recovery in patients treated for hypertension may be related to institutional guidelines that require additional monitoring time after these medications are administered.