WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery: specialty-related aspects of check items

Abstract

Conclusion: The WHO surgical checklist is well suited to otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery (ORL-HNS) and the users are satisfied with its content. Objectives: Use of the checklist will improve safety in operating rooms (ORs). The checklist has been taken into use in ORL-HNS, and preliminary experiences are promising. However, the checklist must be specific to the specialty in which it is used. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of the check items for ORL-HNS operations, with special reference to outpatient surgery. Methods: The questionnaire study for the OR personnel was conducted at a tertiary academic hospital. Every item on the WHO checklist was evaluated and responders could provide freehand comments on the subject. Results: In all, 101 responses were received from OR staff; the response rate was 95.3%. The users were mainly satisfied with the checklist’s content for ORL-HNS operations. Mean scores of the importance of check items varied from 4.08 to 4.89 on a five-point scale. The item ‘Allergy’ had the highest score and ‘Team members introduced’ the lowest. A need to modify the checklist for in-hospital patients did not emerge. However, a more compact checklist for outpatient surgery carried out under local anaesthesia was suggested.

Keywords::

• Patient safety
• operation room
• communication
• information transfer
• surgery
• adverse events

Acknowledgments

The authors thank OR nurse Nina Starck for her assistance in data collection. The study was supported financially by the Turku University Hospital Research Fund and the Finnish Medical Foundation.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.