Propuesta de un listado de verificación quirúrgica complementario para la cirugía de columna vertebral

Introduction

Once the World Health Organization (WHO) generic surgical checklist has been standardized and following the itinerary proposed, it is up to the different specialties to continue advancing in the improvement and adjustment of the checklists to their specific procedures.

Methods

Through a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), in which professionals from the surgical area of the Torrecárdenas University Hospital, Jaén Hospital Complex and Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital participated, aspects that threaten patient safety in spine surgery and that are not included in the WHO generic surgical checklist were proposed. The authors scored each of the proposed items incrementally based on the degree of suitability. Based on the score obtained, they selected those which would be incorporated into the specific safety checklist.

Results

A total of 21 candidate items were proposed to be part of the specific check list. These obtained scores between 15 and 11 points. After scoring them, it was decided to include the 13 best rated in the definitive surgical checklist, 7 of them in the initial phase, 2 in the phase prior to the incision and another 4 in the final part of the checklist prior to the completion of the procedure.

Conclusions

Professionals in the surgical area of Neurosurgery can identify aspects not included in the generic checklist whose non-compliance can affect patient safety in spine surgery to at least the same extent as those included in WHO checklist.

It is possible to propose a specific complementary checklist for spinal surgery, responsible for collecting aspects related to safety and success in these procedures.