AB238. SOH25_AB_208. Audit on patient handover in post anesthesia care unit using standardized checklist
Anaesthesia Posters

AB238. SOH25_AB_208. Audit on patient handover in post anesthesia care unit using standardized checklist

Muhammad Safullah, Isra Sayedahmed, Mayada Mohammed, Malaz Elkhalifa

Department of Anaesthesia, University Hospital Limerick, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland

Background: Effective communication during patient handover in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) is vital to ensure patient safety and high-quality perioperative care. We initially examined the handover to nurses at University Hospital Limerick’s PACU which showed an average of 57% compliance to a standardized checklist, incorporating the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation) format. Our initial data collection highlighted significant gaps in conveying critical information such as ASA grade, flushed IV line and contact details.

Methods: Educational sessions and posted documents in PACU were implemented to address the gaps in previous SBAR handovers. We then employed the same standardized checklist to evaluate compliance following the intervention. The data collection was conducted by PACU nurses for all surgical procedures between February 12 to March 4 2024. Descriptive statistical methods were utilized for data analysis.

Results: This audit revealed variable compliance rates across different parameters. The reported compliance rates were 86% for name, 77% for age, 82% for procedure name and 52% for theatre number. The compliance rates for American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) grade, allergies, and co-morbidities were 48%, 89%, and 86%, respectively. Furthermore, the compliance rates for intra-operative issues, analgesia, antiemetic, antibiotic, IV fluid, postoperative analgesia, investigations, line flushed, and concerns ranged from 52% to 98%. The reported contact details for queries and discharge had compliance rates of 64% and 52%, respectively. On average compliance was 72.5%.

Conclusions: This audit identified critical areas that require attention. There was a clear improvement in compliance after the implementation of educational posters and sessions.

Keywords: Anaesthesia; handover; post anesthesia care unit (PACU); recovery; Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR)

Acknowledgments

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Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-25-ab238
Cite this abstract as: Safullah M, Sayedahmed I, Mohammed M, Elkhalifa M. AB238. SOH25_AB_208. Audit on patient handover in post anesthesia care unit using standardized checklist. Mesentery Peritoneum 2025;9:AB238.

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