Perceptions and use of surgical checklist practices in a tertiary hospital of Tunisia, 2023

Abstract

Introduction: Patient safety remains a major concern in the operating room (OR). The surgical checklist (CL) is presented as a solution for reducing postoperative complications by ensuring better patient safety, but the adoption and use of this tool remain modest in our ORs. So, we aimed to describe CL use practices and perceptions among OR professionals at the University Hospital Center (UHC) of Sahloul, Sousse in 2023. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among OR professionals at UHC of Sahloul. Data were collected using a questionnaire and an observation grid. Results: The average age of respondents was 38.05 (±8 years) with a female predominance. Our results revealed positive perceptions (98.7%) regarding the usefulness of the surgical CL. Some difficulties were raised by participants, notably the difficulty of accepting verbalization aloud (59.4%), the anxiety generated by multiple checks for the patient (58.8%) and the difficulty of implementing CL during emergency interventions (49.4%). The observation grid revealed the rate of CL use in the OR (70.8%) and inadequate practices in the quality of CL item completion: Variation in the quality of CL item completion from one stage to the next; Items mostly ticked without verification, with only the patient identification (69.1%), procedure site (64.7%), known allergy (47.1%) and antibiotic prophylaxis (61.8%) items being checked aloud. Conclusion: CLs in the operating room are essential to guarantee safe, quality care. It is therefore essential that healthcare professionals, healthcare establishments and decision-makers not only recognize its importance, but also implement the necessary measures for its adoption and systematic use.