AB243. Key performance indicators in a major teaching hospital anaesthetics department

Background: At present there are no national guidelines on performance measurement for anaesthesia in Ireland. The aim of this study was to determine if we are achieving key performance indicators (KPIs) in areas of intraoperative temperature monitoring, post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and post-operative pain when compared with international literature.

Methods: The study was carried out over a four-week period from September 2019 to October 2019 at University Hospital Limerick. Data was collected using a standardised questionnaire completed by post anaesthesia care unit (PACU) nursing staff.

Results: In total 135 patients were included in the study. Eleven percent of patients had their temperature monitored on one or more occasions intraoperatively. Five percent of these post-operative patients experienced PONV while 33% reported NRS-11 pain scales higher than 4.

Conclusions: These results demonstrate that we are monitoring patient temperature inadequately however the incidence of PONV and post-operative pain is less than that reported in the literature. We hope this data will contribute to the development of national guidelines on KPIs for anaesthetics in Ireland.

Keywords: Key performance indicators (KPIs); anaesthesia; perioperative hypothermia; post-operative nausea and vomiting; post-operative pain