Assessing recovery after ambulatory anaesthesia, measures of resumption of activities of daily living.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There are several aspects that should be considered when measuring the outcome of ambulatory anaesthesia. Major complications and admission/readmission rate are classical measures. Fast-track eligible, pain, and postoperative nausea and vomiting during the early recovery and time to discharge are commonly reported. There is, however, an increasing interest in quality of recovery in a more protracted perspective taking various aspects of resumption of activities of daily living into account. The aim of the present review is to provide an update around postoperative quality of recovery assessment tools. Resumption of activities of daily living or defined functional capacities back at baseline are measures that provide further insight to the quality of recovery. RECENT
FINDINGS: There is an increased interest in recovery in a more protracted perspective. The Functional Recovery Index is one simple assessment tool explicitly developed for measuring recovery after ambulatory anaesthesia. The Postoperative Quality of Recovery Scale is a more extensive test developed for measuring the recovery after anaesthesia over time in the postoperative period.
SUMMARY: The quality of recovery in a more protracted perspective, resumption of activity of daily living is a measure that needs to be considered in studies of perioperative interventions in ambulatory anaesthesia.