Creation and Implementation of a Preoperative Malignant Hyperthermia Screening Tool.

Abstract

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially lethal pharmacogenetic disorder triggered by certain anesthetic agents. There is currently no standardized preoperative screening tool utilized to identify MH-susceptible individuals. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to enhance preoperative screening for MH susceptibility (MHS) by implementing an evidence-based screening tool for surgical patients at 2 sites. This prospective descriptive QI project evaluated the success of implementing an MHS screening tool preoperatively and its impact on the anesthesia plan. Anesthesia professionals included the screening tool in their preoperative interview for surgical patients so that positively screened patients could receive MH prevention measures. A total of 95 patients at site A and 234 patients at site B were screened using the MH tool, a cumulative total of 21 patients were positively screened, and 1 anesthetic plan was altered. This MHS screening tool has the potential to prevent MH episodes when used consistently by staff.