Objective To explore the causes of conversion to thoracotomy in patients with minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) in a surgical team, and to obtain a deeper understanding of the timing of conversion in MIE. Methods The clinical data of patients who underwent MIE between September 9, 2011 and February 12, 2022 by a single surgical team in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. The main influencing factors and perioperative mortality of patients who converted to thoracotomy in this group were analyzed. Results In the cohort of 791 consecutive patients with MIE, there were 520 males and 271 females, including 29 patients of multiple esophageal cancer, 156 patients of upper thoracic cancer, 524 patients of middle thoracic cancer, and 82 patients of lower thoracic cancer. And 46 patients were converted to thoracotomy for different causes. The main causes for thoracotomy were advanced stage tumor (26 patients), anesthesia-related factors (5 patients), extensive thoracic adhesions (6 patients), and accidental injury of important structures (8 patients). There was a statistical difference in the distribution of tumor locations between patients who converted to thoracotomy and the MIE patients (P<0.05). The proportion of multiple and upper thoracic cancer in patients who converted to thoracotomy was higher than that in the MIE patients, while the proportion of lower thoracic cancer was lower than that in the MIE patients. The perioperative mortality of the thoracotomy patients was not significantly different from that of the MIE patients (P=1.000). Conclusion In MIE, advanced-stage tumor, anesthesia-related factors, extensive thoracic adhesions, and accidental injury of important structures are the main causes of conversion to thoracotomy. The rate varies at different tumor locations. Intraoperative conversion to thoracotomy does not affect the perioperative mortality of MIE.
ObjectiveTo explore the application and effect of root cause analysis (RCA) in the management of adverse nursing events. MethodsNursing staff members were trained to establish the team of root cause analysis. They collected related materials of adverse nursing events in the infusion room of the Department of Pediatrics, found out the proximal causes and root causes, developed and implemented the corrective measures. RCA was carried out between January 2013 and December 2014. The efficacy was evaluated and the adverse events rate was compared before and after the practice. ResultsAfter the performance of RCA, the reporting rate of adverse events increased, the rate of adverse events decreased, and the reporting rate of potential safety problems also increased. All those changes were significant (P<0.01). ConclusionRoot cause analysis can decrease the rate of adverse nursing events, raise the reporting rate of adverse events. It is an effective guarantee to improve the nursing safety management.
Objective To explore strategies to reduce the same-day cancellation rate of gynecological day surgery. Methods The same-day cancellation status of gynecological surgery in the Department of Day Surgery, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University from January to December 2021 (before improvement) was investigated. The causes of cancellation were analyzed from three aspects: patient-related factors, medical factors, and examination factors. Subsequently, management countermeasures were formulated for the controllable factors and continuous quality improvement was implemented. After improvement, the same-day cancellation rate of gynecological day surgery from September 2022 to January 2023 was collected and compared with that before improvement. Results Continuous quality improvement was implemented targeting three factors in day surgery, namely the short interval between patient’s visit time and pre-scheduled time, the irrational sequence of preoperative examinations for patients, and the non-standardized treatment of patients with abnormal vaginal discharge by physicians. The same-day cancellation rates of gynecological day surgery before and after the continuous quality improvement were 3.70% (156/4211) and 2.13% (30/1411), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=8.231, P=0.004). ConclusionOptimizing the preoperative examination and admission process, effective preoperative education and physician-patient communication, establishing unified standards for the approval of vaginal discharge tests and standardized treatment protocols, and clarifying the responsibilities of the preoperative comprehensive assessment outpatient clinic along with the supervision system are effective measures to reduce the same-day cancellation rate of gynecological day surgery.
ObjectiveTo summarize and analyze the causes of temporarily rescheduled selective operations in hospital and to find out improvements via statistical analysis. MethodsBy referring to the specialized anesthesia log, the rescheduled operations among all the selective operations in 2012 were retrospectively studied, and the rescheduled situations in different ages, sex and departments were analyzed. The specific causes of rescheduling and improvements were also discussed. ResultsThere were 582 rescheduled cases among all the 9 670 selective operations from January to December in 2012, with a rescheduling rate of 6.02%. The top three departments were orthopedics, thoracic surgery, and neurosurgery. Main causes for rescheduled cases were diseases, inadequate preoperational preparations, requests of patients or relatives and accidents. ConclusionMedical workers should get preoperational patients fully prepared materially, physically and psychologically via reinforcement of preoperative evaluation and preparation and avoidance of unexpected situations, so as to reduce rescheduling phenomena of selective operations.
Objective To analyze the causes for day surgery cancellations before admission or on the same day of operation, and put forward targeted measures to improve the medical resource utilization and patient satisfaction. Methods The basic information and clinical data of patients who had been scheduled for surgery in the Day Surgery Center of West China Hospital, Sichuan University between January 2018 and September 2021 were collected. The reasons for the surgery cancellations before admission or on the same day of operation were analyzed. Results From January 2018 to September 2021, a total of 45176 patients were successfully scheduled for day surgery, and 44300 patients completed surgery as planned. A total of 876 operations (1.94%) were cancelled after being scheduled, including 546 (1.21%) before admission and 330 (0.73%) on the surgery day. Ranked from high to low according to the cancellation rates, the top five departments were Department of Dermatology, Department of Vascular Surgery, Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Department of Gastroenterology, with a cancellation rate of 3.38% (8/237), 2.90% (25/863), 2.85% (101/3548), 2.48% (171/6893), and 1.91% (260/13578), respectively. In the reasons for cancellations, patient factors accounted for 57.31% (502/876) and medical management factors accounted for 42.69% (374/876). Conclusions The cancellations of day surgery mainly occur before admission, and are mainly caused by patient factors. It is necessary to strengthen the preoperative education for day surgery patients, and enhance the communication and cooperation between surgery physicians, nurses and technicians, in order to reduce the operation cancellation rate and make reasonable and efficient use of medical resources.