Protocol for a prospective, international cohort study on the Management and Outcomes of Perioperative Care among European Diabetic Patients (MOPED)

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is common (about 20 million patients in Europe) and patients with diabetes have more surgical interventions than the general population. There are plausible pathophysiological and clinical mechanisms suggesting that patients with diabetes are at an increased risk of postoperative complications. When postoperative complications occur in the general population, they increase major adverse events and subsequently increase 1-year mortality. This is likely to be worse in patients with diabetes. There is variation in practice guidelines in different countries in the perioperative management of patients with diabetes undergoing major surgery and whether this may affect postoperative outcome has not been investigated on a large scale. Neither is it known whether different strata of preoperative glycaemic control affects outcome. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A prospective, observational, international, multicentre cohort study, recruiting 5000 patients with diabetes undergoing elective or emergency surgery in at least n=50 centres. Inclusion criteria are any patient with diabetes undergoing surgery under any substantive anaesthetic technique. Exclusion criteria are not being a confirmed diabetic patient and patients with diabetes undergoing procedures under monitored sedation or local anaesthetic infiltration only. Follow-up duration is 30 days after surgery. Primary outcome is days at home at 30 days. Secondary outcomes are Comprehensive Complications Index, Quality of Recovery (QoR-15) score on Day 1 postoperatively, 30-day mortality, length of hospital stay and incidence of specific major adverse events (Myocardial Infarction (MI), Myocardial Injury after Non-cardiac Surgery (MINS), Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), Postoperative Pulmonary Complications (PPC), Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA), Pulmonary Embolism (PE), DVT, surgical site infection, postoperative pulmonary infection). Tertiary outcomes include time to resumption of normal diabetes therapy, incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis or hypoglycaemia, incidence and duration of use of intravenous insulin infusion therapy and change in diabetic management at 30 days. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study will adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (amendment 2013) by the World Medical Association and the ICH-Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Guidelines E6(R2). Specific national and local regulatory authority requirements will be followed as applicable. Ethical approval has been granted by the Institutional Review Board of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland (Reference: 1/378/2167). As enrolment for this study is ongoing, ethical approval from additional centres is being added continuously. The main results of Management and Outcomes of Perioperative Care among European Diabetic Patients and its substudies will be published in peer-reviewed international medical journals and presented at Euroanaesthesia congress and other international and national meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04511312.