Clinical otolaryngology : official journal of ENT-UK ; official journal of Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology & Cervico-Facial Surgery
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Towards better patient safety: WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in otorhinolaryngology.
The World Health Organisation has developed a Surgical Safety Checklist to improve patient safety during surgery. This checklist has reduced postoperative morbidity and mortality. Prior to checklist implementation, we wanted to evaluate how it would fit into the process of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery and whether it would have an impact on the awareness of safety-related issues. ⋯ Our study confirms that the Surgical Safety Checklist fits well into the surgical working process in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery improving the sharing of patient-related medical information between team members. Development of a specific checklist for otolaryngology calls for further study.