Design and Evaluation of a Team Timeout Checklist (TTOC) to Improve Information Exchange in the Operating Room Before Skin Incision

University of Jena151 enrolled

Overview

In this study, we designed and evaluated a team timeout checklist (TTOC) which aimed at improving team communication and information exchange before skin incision. The WHO surgical safety checklist was used as a basis with the following changes: we clarified the wording of specific items (e.g., surgical site), we clarified checks by denoting separate items involved for each check, and we denoted circulating nurses as responsible for checklist readout and adherence.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

151

Conditions

Checklist Teamwork Information Exchange

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Personnel working in the operating room (nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, technical support staff) \- Exclusion Criteria: * anyone who did not give their oral consent to be observed during surgeries

Locations (1)

University Hospital Leipzig

Leipzig, Germany

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

information exchange

this measure assessed whether all sub-items on the TTOC were adequately checked and respective information audibly shared in the team

Time frame: from the time patients were rolled into the OR until skin incision

team communication

using a validate coding scheme, we assessed how team members communicated with each other using professional coding software to log a set of ten behaviors (e.g., instructions, questions, confirmations, speaking up...)

Time frame: from the time patients were rolled into the OR until skin incision

Secondary Outcomes

duration of pre skin incision period with and without checklist

to assess how long the period before incision takes with and without TTOC

Time frame: from the time patients were rolled into the OR until skin incision