Impact of Implementation of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist In Patients Operated In Emergency Operation Theater

Madiha Abbas, Shoaib Malik

Abstract

Objective

To document the feasibility and reliability of implementation of WHO surgical safety checklist (SSC) and its impact on the patients operated in emergency operation theater.

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Place & Duration of study

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Karachi, from January 2022 to June 2022

Methods

Patients who underwent emergency surgical procedures were included in the study. All procedures were carried out in emergency operation theatre. For documentation of outcome two groups were made. Group A included patients who had complications during or after surgery in the last six months before the implementation of surgical safety checklist and group B had patients who developed complications after the implementation of surgical safety checklist. Data were recorded on a predesigned form. Independent sample t test was applied to find the correlations between the groups. A p value of <0.05 was considered as significant.

Results

A total of 300 patients were included in the study. There were 142 (47.3%) females and 158 (52.7%) males. The age of the patients was from 12-70 years. The mean age was 35.73±1.41 years. Postoperative infection were noted in 59 (39.3%) patients in group A which reduced to 24% in group B after effective implementation of the surgical safety checklist. This was statistically significant (p=0.001). Unplanned return to the operating theatre was 6.7% in group A which reduced to 1.3% in group B (p=0.001).

Conclusion

WHO SSC is effective in reducing perioperative and postoperative complication rates with a significant reduction in mortality figures.

Key words

Emergency surgery, WHO surgical safety checklist, Perioperative complications, Surgical mortality.