Abstract 249: Understanding the Patient Experience of Pain and Discomfort During Cardiac Catheterization

Abstract

Background: Patient centeredness is an essential component of high-quality care, yet little is published regarding the patient experience during procedures performed in the cardiac catheterization lab. Available literature focuses on the safe delivery of sedation, but does not address patient-reported satisfaction, comfort, or procedural experience. Further delineation of how procedural factors impact the patient experience is needed. Methods and Results: We conducted a retrospective, exploratory analysis of adult cardiac catheterization outpatients receiving nurse-administered, physician-prescribed procedural sedation (benzodiazepine and/or opioids) between April-June, 2017. Data were abstracted from the procedural database, EHR and Press Ganey© surveys. Patients (n=375) had a mean age of 63, were male 60% (226/375), White 73% (271/375), and overweight / obese (mean BMI = 29). Procedural sedation was given in 93% (348/375) of cases. Press Ganey© results showed good satisfaction with pain control (>75 th percentile) and staff concern for comfort in all patients. There was no significant difference in pre- and post-procedural patient reported pain scores. The median patient received 1.63 doses of midazolam with either 1.48 doses of fentanyl or 1.33 doses of hydromorphone. Median time interval between administration of initial sedative dose and local anesthetic was 6.2 minutes. Patients with longer intervals had less frequent dosing (p<0.001) and less total procedural sedation (p<0.001). Adjusting for demographic and procedural characteristics, trainee involvement (p=0.001), older age (p=0.002) and longer time intervals (p=<0.001) between dosing and local anesthetic were associated with decreased frequency and total dose. Conclusions: Extended duration of sedation intervals was associated with lower overall sedation administration with similar patient satisfaction. Optimizing processes for administering peri-procedural sedation may allow for less total medication without impacting patient experience.