Assessing Operating Team Practices Of Surgical Safety Measures Applied To Intraoperative Orthopedic Patients

Abstract

Promoting patient safety is the fundamental role of health care, yet care-related adverse events can be disastrous for patients, families and health settings. Surgical patient safety is still challenge in operation, in spite of the development of the Universal Protocol. Objective: Assess orthopedic patients’ safety in the operating room. Setting: The operating rooms at Makkah hospital, Saudi Arabia. Subjects: 200 intra-operative patients undergoing orthopedic surgery and all surgeons (N=10), anesthetists (N=4) and nurses (N=28). Tool: Surgical Safety Checklist administered to assess operating team practices comprises a pre-operative verification process, sign in, time out, and sign out. Results: The findings revealed that the highest performance items of the operating team were r[1]elated to patient ID, surgical site marked, patient consent, images, supplies, antibiotics given, and sterile instruments check; the worst performance items were assessing patient for risk of excessive blood loss and difficulty of airway or aspiration (62% and 57%, respectively).Reviewing the key concerns for recovery was undertaken for only 62% of patients. The results also imply that the differences between parts of surgical safety and patients’ age, as well as types of surgeries, were statistically significant. Conclusion: The high mean score of surgical safety applied by operating team was related to phase I (preoperative verification) and phase IV (sign out). Recommendations: The findings highlight the need for using Surgical Safety Checklist in the operating room to maintain safety culture and prevent complications.