Problem Statement - The decision to administer sugammadex to a patient during surgery is
based on a variety of factors throughout the surgery and is often not determined during the
preoperative evaluation by the anesthesia provider. Side effects and medication interactions,
including reduced efficacy of progesterone containing hormonal replacement medications and an
increased post-operative bleeding risk, are not discussed with the patients during discharge
teaching due to the discharging nurse’s lack of knowledge on the side effects and medication
interactions of sugammadex (Iwasaki et al., 2017; Keating, 2016; Lee & Jung, 2020; Lee, 2019;
O’Driscoll & Parrott, 2019).
Purpose - This project aims to determine if an educational presentation to perioperative nurses
will increase the nurses’ knowledge of the side effects and medication interactions of
sugammadex, which will translate to more effective discharge teaching for the patient.
Methods - This DNP project is a Quality Improvement (QI) project focused on increasing
knowledge and improving outcomes utilizing an educational intervention. The educational
intervention consists of a PowerPoint presentation to the perioperative registered nurses (RNs) at
Marion Health (MH). The PowerPoint presentation addresses the use, mechanism of action, side
effects and medication interactions of sugammadex; as well as which patient populations would
benefit from direct teaching about the medication interactions and side effects of sugammadex.
Results - The post-intervention data showed a marked increase in the self-reported discharge
teaching on the side effects and medication interactions of sugammadex with a 171% and 111%
increase respectively. The post-intervention data also shows a 200% increase in scores related to
the medication interactions and medication interactions of sugammadex. The increases in not
only knowledge, but in self-reported discharge teaching, on the side effects and medication
interactions of sugammadex indicate that the project interventions were effective.
Implications - This DNP project overwhelmingly demonstrates that an educational intervention
for perioperative RNs yielded an increase in knowledge on the side effects and medication
interactions of sugammadex.