Perioperative medicine training resources: U3M3: Optimisation strategies

Abstract
Health care teamwork is a vital part of clinical work and patient care but is poorly understood. Despite poor teamwork being cited as a major contributory factor to adverse events, we lack vital knowledge about how teamwork can be improved. Teams in health care are diverse in structure and purpose, and most patient care depends on the ability of different professionals to coordinate their actions. Research in this area has narrowly defined health care teams, focused mainly on a small range of settings and activities and addressed a limited range of research questions. We argue that a new approach to teamwork research is needed and make three recommendations. First, the temporal and dynamic features of teamwork should be studied to understand how teamwork unfolds sequentially. Second, contextual influences should be integrated into study designs, including the organization of work, tasks, patients, organisational structures, and health care system factors. Finally, exploratory, rather than confirmatory, research designs are needed to analyse the complex patterns of social interaction inherent in health care work, to build our theoretical understanding of health care teams and their work, and ultimately to develop effective interventions to support better teamwork for the benefit of patients.

Abstract
Background: The magnitude of risk of death related to surgery and anaesthesia is not well understood. We aimed to assess whether the risk of perioperative and anaesthetic-related mortality has decreased over the past five decades and whether rates of decline have been comparable in developed and developing countries.

Methods: We did a systematic review to identify all studies published up to February, 2011, in any language, with a sample size of over 3000 that reported perioperative mortality across a mixed surgical population who had undergone general anaesthesia. Using standard forms, two authors independently identified studies for inclusion and extracted information on rates of anaesthetic-related mortality, perioperative mortality, cardiac arrest, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status, geographic location, human development index (HDI), and year. The primary outcome was anaesthetic sole mortality. Secondary outcomes were anaesthetic contributory mortality, total perioperative mortality, and cardiac arrest. Meta-regression was done to ascertain weighted event rates for the outcomes.

Findings: 87 studies met the inclusion criteria, within which there were more than 21·4 million anaesthetic administrations given to patients undergoing general anaesthesia for surgery. Mortality solely attributable to anaesthesia declined over time, from 357 per million (95% CI 324-394) before the 1970s to 52 per million (42-64) in the 1970s-80s, and 34 per million (29-39) in the 1990s-2000s (p<0·00001). Total perioperative mortality decreased over time, from 10,603 per million (95% CI 10,423-10,784) before the 1970s, to 4533 per million (4405-4664) in the 1970s-80s, and 1176 per million (1148-1205) in the 1990s-2000s (p<0·0001). Meta-regression showed a significant relation between risk of perioperative and anaesthetic-related mortality and HDI (all p<0·00001). Baseline risk status of patients who presented for surgery as shown by the ASA score increased over the decades (p<0·0001).

Interpretation: Despite increasing patient baseline risk, perioperative mortality has declined significantly over the past 50 years, with the greatest decline in developed countries. Global priority should be given to reducing total perioperative and anaesthetic-related mortality by evidence-based best practice in developing countries.

Funding: University of Western Ontario.

Abstract
Pre-operative nutrition therapy is increasingly recognised as an essential component of surgical care. The present review has been formatted using Simon Sinek's Golden Circle approach to explain 'why' avoiding pre-operative malnutrition and supporting protein anabolism are important goals for the elective surgical patient, 'how' peri-operative malnutrition develops leading in part to a requirement for pre-operative anabolic preparation, and 'what' can be done to avoid pre-operative malnutrition and support anabolism for optimal recovery.

Abstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the determinants of 30-day postoperative mortality and long-term survival after major surgery as exemplified by 8 common operations.

Summary background data: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database contains pre-, intra-, and 30-day postoperative data, prospectively collected in a standardized fashion by a dedicated nurse reviewer, on major surgery in the Veterans Administration (VA). The Beneficiary Identification and Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) is a VA file that depicts the vital status of U.S. veterans with 87% to 95% accuracy.

Methods: NSQIP data were merged with BIRLS to determine the vital status of 105,951 patients who underwent 8 types of operations performed between 1991 and 1999, providing an average follow up of 8 years. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed to identify the predictors of 30-day mortality and long-term survival, respectively.

Results: The most important determinant of decreased postoperative survival was the occurrence, within 30 days postoperatively, of any one of 22 types of complications collected in the NSQIP. Independent of preoperative patient risk, the occurrence of a 30-day complication in the total patient group reduced median patient survival by 69%. The adverse effect of a complication on patient survival was also influenced by the operation type and was sustained even when patients who did not survive for 30 days were excluded from the analyses.

Conclusions: The occurrence of a 30-day postoperative complication is more important than preoperative patient risk and intraoperative factors in determining the survival after major surgery in the VA. Quality and process improvement in surgery should be directed toward the prevention of postoperative complications.

Excerpt
Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS™) is a systematic approach developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to integrate teamwork into practice. It is designed to improve the quality, safety, and the efficiency of health care. TeamSTEPPS is based on 25 years of research related to teamwork, team training, and culture change. As a direct outcome of the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, To Err is Human, TeamSTEPPS introduces tools and strategies to improve team performance in health care. This article describes the evolution of the TeamSTEPPS program and its research foundation, development, and implementation. To date, the DoD has taught TeamSTEPPS at over 68 facilities, creating approximately 1,500 trainers/coaches, who have trained over 5,000 staff members. Beginning with the public release of TeamSTEPPS resources in November 2006, AHRQ began its effort to disseminate TeamSTEPPS nationwide. To support this plan, a national infrastructure is being established for long-term sustainment through collaborative efforts of several Federal agencies, academic centers, and health care networks, aiming for wide-scale dissemination.

Abstract
In this article, we review the debriefing literature and point to the dilemma that although debriefings especially intend to enhance team (rather than individual) learning, it is particularly this team setting that poses risks for debriefing effectiveness (e.g., preference-consistent information sharing, lack of psychological safety inhibiting structured information sharing, ineffective debriefing models). These risks can be managed with a mindful approach with respect to content (e.g., specific learning objectives), structure (e.g., reactions phase, analysis phase, summary phase), attitude (e.g., honesty, curiosity, holding the trainee in positive regard) and setting (e.g., briefings to provide orientation and establish psychological safety). We point to the potential of integrating systemic methods such as circular questions into debriefings, discuss the empirical evidence for debriefing effectiveness and highlight the importance of faculty development.

Abstract
Cardiac events remain the leading cause of peri-operative morbidity and mortality, and patients undergoing major surgery are exposed to significant risks which may be preventable and modifiable. Proper assessment and management of various cardiac conditions in the peri-operative period by anaesthetists can markedly improve patient safety, especially in high-risk patient populations. This involves understanding and applying current evidence-based practice and international guidelines on the main aspects of cardiac optimisation, including management of patients with hypertension, chronic heart failure, valvular heart diseases and cardiac implantable electronic devices. Peri-operative management of antihypertensive drugs in keeping with the current best evidence is discussed. Pre-operative cardiac risk assessment and cardiac biomarkers can be used to help predict and quantify peri-operative adverse cardiac events. There is an increasing need for anaesthetist-led services, including focused transthoracic echocardiography and management of implantable cardiac electronic devices. Anaesthetists should be encouraged to play a proactive role in pre-operative risk stratification and make timely multidisciplinary referrals if necessary. A personalised approach to pre-operative cardiac optimisation enables a safer peri-operative journey for at-risk patients undergoing major surgery.

Abstract
The pre-operative optimisation of comorbidities is increasingly recognised as an important element of the pre-operative pathway. These efforts have primarily focused on physical comorbidities such as anaemia and the optimisation of exercise and nutrition. However, there is a growing recognition of the importance of psychological morbidity. Increasingly, evidence suggests that psychological factors have an impact on surgical outcomes in both the short and long term. Pre-operative anxiety, depression and low self-efficacy are consistently associated with worse physiological surgical outcomes and postoperative quality of life. This has led to the emergence of psychological prehabilitation and the trimodal approach to prehabilitation, incorporating psychological intervention as well as exercise and nutritional optimisation. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to be sure that pre-operative psychological interventions are of benefit, or which interventions are most effective, because their impact has been mixed. There is an urgent need for high quality, contemporaneous prospective trials with baseline psychological evaluation, well-described interventions and agreement on the most appropriate psychological, quality of life and physiological outcomes measures.

Abstract
Peri-operative hyperglycaemia, whether the cause is known diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes or stress hyperglycaemia, is a risk factor for harm, increased length of stay and death. There is increasing evidence that peri-operative hyperglycaemia is a modifiable risk factor, and many of the interventions required to improve the outcome of surgery must be instituted before the actual surgical admission. These interventions depend on communication and collaboration within the multidisciplinary team along each stage of the patient journey to ensure that integration of care occurs across the whole of the patient-centred care pathway.

Abstract
Background: Health-care worker (HCW) hand hygiene (HH) is the cornerstone of efforts to reduce hospital infections but remains low. Real-time mitigation of failures can increase process reliability to > 95% but has been challenging to implement for HH.

Objective: To sustainably improve HCW HH to > 95%.

Methods: A hospital-wide quality improvement initiative to improve HH was initiated in February 2012. HCW HH behavior was measured by covert direct observation utilizing multiple-trained HCW volunteers. HH compliance was defined as correct HH performed before and after contact with the patient or the patient's care area. Interventions focusing on leadership support, HCW knowledge, supply availability, and culture change were implemented using quality improvement science methodology. In February 2014, the hospital began the Speaking Up for Safety Program, which trained all HCWs to identify and mitigate HH failures at the moment of occurrence and addressed known barriers to speaking up.

Results: Between January 1, 2012, and January 31, 2016, there were 30,514 HH observations, averaging 627 observations per month (9% attending physicians, 12% resident physicians, 46% nurses, 33% other HCW types). HCW HH gradually increased from 75% to > 90% by December 2014. After the Speaking Up for Safety Program, HCW HH has been > 95% for 20 months. Physician HH compliance has been above 90% for over a year.

Conclusion: Creating a specific process for staff to speak up and prevent HH failures, as part of a multimodal improvement effort, can sustainably increase HCW HH above 95%.

Abstract
Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) after colorectal surgery are common, lead to patient harm, and are costly to the healthcare system. This study's purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of the AHRQ Safety Program for Surgery in Hawaii.

Study design: This pre-post cohort study involved 100% of 15 hospitals in Hawaii from January 2013 through June 2015. The intervention was a statewide implementation of the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program and individualized bundles of interventions to reduce SSIs. Primary end point was colorectal SSIs. Secondary end point was safety culture measured by the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture.

Results: The most common interventions implemented were reliable chlorhexidine wash, wipe before operation, and surgical preparation; appropriate antibiotic choice, dose, and timing; standardized post-surgical debriefing; and differentiating clean-dirty-clean with anastomosis tray and closing tray. From January 2013 (quarter 1) through June 2015 (quarter 2), the collaborative colorectal SSI rate decreased (from 12.08% to 4.63%; p < 0.01). The SSI rate exhibited a linear decrease during the 10-quarter period (p = 0.005). Safety culture increased in 10 of 12 domains: Overall Perception/Patient Safety (from 49% to 53%); Teamwork Across Units (from 49% to 54%); Management-Support Patient Safety (from 53% to 60%); Nonpunitive Response to Error (from 36% to 40%); Communication Openness (from 50% to 55%); Frequency of Events Reported (from 51% to 60%); Feedback/Communication about Error (from 52% to 59%); Organizational Learning/Continuous Improvement (from 59% to 70%); Supervisor/Manager Expectations and Actions Promoting Safety (from 58% to 64%); and Teamwork Within Units (from 68% to 75%) (all p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Participation in the national AHRQ Safety Program for Surgery in the state of Hawaii was associated with a 61.7% decrease in colorectal SSI rate and an increase in patient safety culture.

Abstract
Composite endpoints consisting of several binary events, such as distinct perioperative complications, are frequently chosen as the primary outcome in anesthesia studies (and in many other clinical specialties) because (1) no single outcome fully characterizes the disease or outcome of interest, and/or (2) individual outcomes are rare and statistical power would be inadequate for any single one. Interpreting a composite endpoint is challenging because components rarely meet the ideal criteria of having comparable clinical importance, frequency, and treatment effects. We suggest guidelines for forming composite endpoints and show advantages of newer versus conventional statistical methods for analyzing them. Components should be a parsimonious set of outcomes, which when taken together, well represent the disease of interest and are very plausibly related to the intervention. Adding components that are too narrow, redundant, or minimally influenced by the study intervention compromises interpretation of results and reduces power. We show that multivariate (i.e., multiple outcomes per patient) methods of analyzing a binary-event composite provide distinct advantages over standard methods such as any-versus-none, count of events, or evaluation of individual events. Multivariate methods can incorporate clinical importance weights, compensate for events occurring at varying frequencies, assess treatment effect heterogeneity, and are often more powerful than alternative statistical approaches. Methods are illustrated with an American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program registry study that evaluated the effects of smoking on major perioperative outcomes, and with a clinical trial comparing the effects of crystalloids and colloids on major complications. Sample data files and SAS code are included for convenience.

Abstract
Introduction: The frequency of adverse events in the operating theatre has been linked to the quality of teamwork and communication. Developing suitable measures of teamwork may play a role in reducing errors in surgery. This study reports on the development and evaluation of a method for measuring operating-theatre teamwork quality.

Methods: The Oxford Non-Technical Skills (NOTECHS) scale was developed from an aviation instrument for assessment of non-technical skills. Consultation with experts and task analysis led to modifications reflecting the complexities of the theatre teamwork, particularly the coexistence of three subteams (surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses). The scale was then evaluated using teams performing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (n = 65) before and after teamwork training. Attitudes to teamwork and surgical error rates were assessed by questionnaire and direct observation methods, and used to assess the reliability and validity of the Oxford NOTECHS scale.

Results: The interobserver reliability was excellent in 24 operations independently assessed by two observers (R(wg) = 0.99), confirmed by a third observer in 11 cases (R(wg) = 0.99). Validity was demonstrated through improved scores after teamwork training (t = -3.019, p = 0.005), concurrent with improved attitudes to teamwork after training; inverse correlation between NOTECHS scores and surgical errors (rho = -0.267, p = 0.046); strong inverse correlation between surgical subteam score and surgical errors (rho = -0.412, n = 65, p = 0.001); and strong correlation with teamwork scores from an alternative system (n = 5, r = 0.886, p = 0.046).

Conclusion: The Oxford NOTECHS scale appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing teamwork in the operating theatre, and is ready for further application.

Abstract
Background: Patient-centred outcomes are increasingly used in perioperative clinical trials. The Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine (StEP) initiative aims to define which measures should be used in future research to facilitate comparison between studies and to enable robust evidence synthesis.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to create a longlist of patient satisfaction, health-related quality of life, functional status, patient well-being, and life-impact measures for consideration. A three-stage Delphi consensus process involving 89 international experts was then conducted in order to refine this list into a set of recommendations.

Results: The literature review yielded six patient-satisfaction measures, seven generic health-related quality-of-life measures, eight patient well-being measures, five functional-status measures, and five life-impact measures for consideration. The Delphi response rates were 92%, 87%, and 100% for Rounds 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Three additional measures were added during the Delphi process as a result of contributions from the StEP group members. Firm recommendations have been made about one health-related quality-of-life measure (EuroQol 5 Dimension, five-level version with visual analogue scale), one functional-status measure (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule version 2.0, 12-question version), and one life-impact measure (days alive and out of hospital at 30 days after surgery). Recommendations with caveats have been made about the Bauer patient-satisfaction measure and two life-impact measures (days alive and out of hospital at 1 yr after surgery, and discharge destination).

Conclusions: Several patient-centred outcome measures have been recommended for use in future perioperative studies. We suggest that every clinical study should consider using at least one patient-centred outcome within a suite of endpoints.

Abstract
Anaemia in surgical patients is a common and serious problem; around 40% of patients presenting for major surgery are anaemic. Patients with pre-operative anaemia have significantly higher rates of morbidity and mortality and are likely to be transfused red cells. In addition, red cell transfusions are independently associated with worse outcomes. Pre-optimisation of anaemia in surgical patients leads to higher pre-operative haemoglobin concentrations and less need for transfusion. Patients undergoing major surgery (defined as blood loss > 500 ml expected or possible) should be optimised if their haemoglobin concentration is less than 130 g.l-1 on screening. Detection of anaemia should follow listing for surgery as soon as possible to allow enough time for optimisation. The most common cause of pre-operative anaemia is iron deficiency, which can be treated with iron therapy. Iron clinics should be set up in either primary or secondary care to allow for optimal treatment. In this review, we present literature supporting the optimisation of pre-operative anaemia and propose a treatment algorithm.

ABSTRACT
Hand hygiene (HH) is comprehensively recognized to be the single most significant measure to prevent cross-transmission of microorganisms between patients. This study aimed to measure the HH compliance rates baseline, identify the barriers for HH non-compliance and to assess the impact of multidisciplinary intervention. An interventional study conducted from March 2017 to July 2017 in two surgical paediatric intensive care units (PICU) in two tertiary care hospitals. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) was used for identification of the barriers that affect HH compliance followed by intervention included HH training and education, video presentations in the hospital internal circuit, visual cues, using a code word for gentle verbal reminding and HH champions for follow up. Direct observation of HH was done before and after the intervention applying the WHO HH observation method. HH compliance rate was calculated by dividing the number of HH actions by the total number of opportunities. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to identify statistical significance. A total of 1735 HH opportunities were observed during all phases of the study. RCA identified skin dryness, forgetfulness and work intensity as the commonest barriers for non-compliance. Significant improvement was observed among all groups in PICU A (+23%; p value <0.001); (+19% for nurses, +29 % for doctors, and +36% for others; p value <0.001). While significant improvement was reported among doctors (+28%; p value <0.001) in PICU B. Improvement in HH compliance is achievable by multidisciplinary intervention. Providing continuous intensified training and feedback is essential to maintain high level of HH compliance.

Abstract
Few industries match the scale of health care. In the United States alone, an estimated 85% of the population has at least 1 health care encounter annually and at least one quarter of these people experience 4 to 9 encounters annually. A single visit requires collaboration among a multidisciplinary group of clinicians, administrative staff, patients, and their loved ones. Multiple visits often occur across different clinicians working in different organizations. Ineffective care coordination and the underlying suboptimal teamwork processes are a public health issue. Health care delivery systems exemplify complex organizations operating under high stakes in dynamic policy and regulatory environments. The coordination and delivery of safe, high-quality care demands reliable teamwork and collaboration within, as well as across, organizational, disciplinary, technical, and cultural boundaries. In this review, we synthesize the evidence examining teams and teamwork in health care delivery settings in order to characterize the current state of the science and to highlight gaps in which studies can further illuminate our evidence-based understanding of teamwork and collaboration. Specifically, we highlight evidence concerning (a) the relationship between teamwork and multilevel outcomes, (b) effective teamwork behaviors, (c) competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) underlying effective teamwork in the health professions, (d) teamwork interventions, (e) team performance measurement strategies, and (f) the critical role context plays in shaping teamwork and collaboration in practice. We also distill potential avenues for future research and highlight opportunities to understand the translation, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based teamwork principles into practice. (PsycINFO Database Record

Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the relationship between teamwork and clinical performance and potential moderating variables of this relationship.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data source: PubMed was searched in June 2018 without a limit on the date of publication. Additional literature was selected through a manual backward search of relevant reviews, manual backward and forward search of studies included in the meta-analysis and contacting of selected authors via email.

Eligibility criteria: Studies were included if they reported a relationship between a teamwork process (eg, coordination, non-technical skills) and a performance measure (eg, checklist based expert rating, errors) in an acute care setting.

Data extraction and synthesis: Moderator variables (ie, professional composition, team familiarity, average team size, task type, patient realism and type of performance measure) were coded and random-effect models were estimated. Two investigators independently extracted information on study characteristics in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Results: The review identified 2002 articles of which 31 were included in the meta-analysis comprising 1390 teams. The sample-sized weighted mean correlation was r=0.28 (corresponding to an OR of 2.8), indicating that teamwork is positively related to performance. The test of moderators was not significant, suggesting that the examined factors did not influence the average effect of teamwork on performance.

Conclusion: Teamwork has a medium-sized effect on performance. The analysis of moderators illustrated that teamwork relates to performance regardless of characteristics of the team or task. Therefore, healthcare organisations should recognise the value of teamwork and emphasise approaches that maintain and improve teamwork for the benefit of their patients.

Abstract
Defining and maintaining quality is essential to surgical practice. It is only through structured approaches to assessing outcomes that we can ensure that optimal care is delivered. This article will define quality in healthcare and discuss assessment models with reference to pertinent surgical literature. National initiatives are discussed with a critical appraisal of their role and effectiveness. We discuss the aim of quality improvement initiatives and comment on reporting of outcomes. The difficult question of how to maintain quality during a crisis, such as an infectious disease pandemic, is addressed.

Abstract
Modern healthcare is delivered by multidisciplinary, distributed healthcare teams who rely on effective teamwork and communication to ensure effective and safe patient care. However, we know that there is an unacceptable rate of unintended patient harm, and much of this is attributed to failures in communication between health professionals. The extensive literature on teams has identified shared mental models, mutual respect and trust and closed-loop communication as the underpinning conditions required for effective teams. However, a number of challenges exist in the healthcare environment. We explore these in a framework of educational, psychological and organisational challenges to the development of effective healthcare teams. Educational interventions can promote a better understanding of the principles of teamwork, help staff understand each other's roles and perspectives, and help develop specific communication strategies, but may not be sufficient on their own. Psychological barriers, such as professional silos and hierarchies, and organisational barriers such as geographically distributed teams, can increase the chance of communication failures with the potential for patient harm. We propose a seven-step plan to overcome the barriers to effective team communication that incorporates education, psychological and organisational strategies. Recent evidence suggests that improvement in teamwork in healthcare can lead to significant gains in patient safety, measured against efficiency of care, complication rate and mortality. Interventions to improve teamwork in healthcare may be the next major advance in patient outcomes.

Abstract
Objective: Regret is a powerful motivating factor in medical decision making among patients and surgeons. Regret can be particularly important for surgical decisions, which often carry significant risk and may have uncertain outcomes. We performed a systematic review of the literature focused on patient and physician regret in the surgical setting.

Methods: A search of the English literature between 1986 and 2016 that examined patient and physician self-reported decisional regret was carried out using the MEDLINE/PubMed and Web of Science databases. Clinical studies performed in patients and physicians participating in elective surgical treatment were included.

Results: Of 889 studies identified, 73 patient studies and 6 physician studies met inclusion criteria. Among the 73 patient studies, 57.5% examined patients with a cancer diagnosis, with breast (26.0%) and prostate (28.8%) cancers being most common. Interestingly, self-reported patient regret was relatively uncommon with an average prevalence across studies of 14.4%. Factors most often associated with regret included type of surgery, disease-specific quality of life, and shared decision making. Only 6 studies were identified that focused on physician regret; 2 pertained to surgical decision making. These studies primarily measured regret of omission and commission using hypothetical case scenarios and used the results to develop decision curve analysis tools.

Conclusion: Self-reported decisional regret was present in about 1 in 7 surgical patients. Factors associated with regret were both patient- and procedure related. While most studies focused on patient regret, little data exist on how physician regret affects shared decision making.