• Sabine Nabecker, Désirée Schwendimann, Lorenz Theiler, Tina Pedersen, and Robert Greif.
• From the Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland (SN, DS, LT, RG) and Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Spital Limmattal, Schlieren, Switzerland (TP).
• Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2020 Oct 1; 37 (10): 842-846.

BackgroundSince the WHO release of the Safe Surgery Saves Lives Program in 2008, peri-operative checklists minimise errors and improve patient safety worldwide. Anaesthesia professionals are often reluctant to use these checklists in front of patients because they fear causing patients' discomfort before anaesthesia and surgery.ObjectiveTo assess and compare the subjective level of patient discomfort caused by the use of pre-induction checklists with the patient discomfort estimated by anaesthesia providers.DesignProspective observational study.SettingThe current single-centre trial included 110 anaesthesia providers and 125 nonpremedicated ear, nose and throat or maxillofacial surgery patients in Switzerland from June to August 2016. Inclusion criterion: signed general research consent.Exclusion Criteriareceived premedication, less than 18 years old, day-care patients, dementia or other mental illnesses.InterventionsAnaesthesia healthcare providers and patients before surgery and on the first postoperative day were asked to rate three statements: MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All statements were rated on a 100-mm visual analogue scale, where 0 meant no agreement and 100 meant total agreement.ResultsPatients overwhelmingly agreed that anaesthesia providers should use checklists in front of them. Anaesthesia providers rated the patient discomfort much higher than actually perceived by patients. Both, patients and anaesthesia providers rated the possibility of reducing the risk of errors high.ConclusionPatients experience far less discomfort observing the use of pre-induction checklists than anaesthesia providers expect. Patients value the potential safety benefit significantly higher than anaesthesia providers. These results further support the implementation of peri-operative checklists in the operating room environment.Trial RegistrationThe current observational study had no intervention, therefore, was not registered.

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