An Evidence-Based Teaching Plan for Anesthesia Providers on the Patient Safety Aspects and Pharmacoeconomic Advantages Associated with Sugammadex Use

Anesthesia providers are often required to administer neuromuscular blockade during surgical procedures to optimize both surgical conditions and allow for mechanical ventilation. Reversal of neuromuscular blockade at the conclusion of surgery assists anesthesia providers in preventing adverse events and optimizing patient safety. Current literature supports the use of sugammadex as the safest neuromuscular blockade reversal agent in many cases, but also shows a lack of provider education regarding its use. The hesitancy of anesthesia providers and medical institutions to utilize sugammadex as a standard of care despite evidence-based literature supporting its regular use implies that there is either a knowledge gap in the anesthesia community or an extrinsic barrier preventing access to sugammadex. The purpose of this DNP project was to assess barriers related to sugammadex use and to create and disseminate an evidence- and theoretically-based teaching plan on the patient safety aspects and pharmacoeconomic advantages of using sugammadex for reversal of neuromuscular blockade. After a systematized review of the literature was completed, major themes were extracted to create a survey that was then sent to anesthesia experts from three separate healthcare institutions. 17 of 26 experts responded, which was a 65% survey response rate. Survey results indicated that while anesthesia experts acknowledge that sugammadex leads to decreased side effects and increased patient safety, there is a knowledge gap when it comes to the pharmacoeconomic advantages of its use. There are also both extrinsic and intrinsic barriers placed on sugammadex use by anesthesia providers and the institutions in which they work