Intraoperative Handover Checklist of Anesthesia Care Improves Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery

Intraoperative Handover Checklist of Anesthesia Care Improves Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery: a Multicenter, Before-after Cohort Study

Implementation of a standardized handover checklist for intraoperative anesthesia care transition attenuates burnout among anesthesiologists and improves postoperative outcomes of patients undergoing major surgery , both of which benefit the quality of patient care and the development of anesthesiology.

Many retrospective studies have demonstrated that among adults undergoing major surgery, complete handover of intraoperative anesthesia care compared with no handover was associated with a higher risk of adverse postoperative outcomes. Anesthesiologists keeping on working without handovers may experience symptoms of burnout which do not only pose a threat to the mental and physical health of the anesthesiologist, but also result in sub-optimal safety care of patients. Poor-quality handover without standardized processes can lead to diagnostic and therapeutic delays and precipitate adverse events. An improved system of anesthesia standardized handovers using a checklist would improve transfer of information and professional responsibility and therefore lead to the improvement of patient safety as well as burnout among anesthesiologists. Thus it is urgent to develop a standardized handover checklist for intraoperative anesthesia care to improve postoperative outcome of patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients aged 18 years and older undergoing major surgeries requiring a hospital stay of at least 1 night are enrolled in this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Adult patients aged less than 18 years undergoing major surgeries and were not requiring a hospital stay of at least 1 night are excluded.