AORN journal
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Does preoperative oral carbohydrate reduce hospital stay? A randomized trial.
Oral carbohydrate-rich fluids are used preoperatively to improve postoperative recovery, but their effectiveness for reducing length of hospital stay is uncertain. We assessed the effectiveness of preoperative loading with carbohydrates on the postoperative outcomes of 44 patients scheduled for elective colorectal surgery who were randomly allocated to a carbohydrate-rich fluid group or a usual care group during their preadmission clinic visit. ⋯ Patients in the control group spent an average of 4.3 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2-5.7) in the hospital and patients in the carbohydrate-rich fluid group spent 4.1 days (95% CI, 3.2-5.4) in the hospital until they met discharge criteria (P = .824). We found that the safety of administering preoperative oral carbohydrate-rich fluids is supported, but we were unable to confirm or refute the benefit of this treatment regimen for contributing to shorter hospital stays after elective colorectal surgery.
-
Disasters disrupt everyone's lives, and they can disrupt the flow and function of an OR as well as affect personnel on a professional and personal level even though perioperative departments and their personnel are used to caring for trauma patients and coping with surprises. The Boston Marathon bombing was a new experience for personnel at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. This article discusses the incidents surrounding the bombing and how personnel at this hospital met the challenge of caring for patients and the changes we made after the experience to be better prepared in the event a response to a similar incident is needed.
-
Nearly half of all surgical complications are considered preventable. Early research regarding preprocedural surgical safety checklist briefings revealed that this process led to improved surgical complication rates. We conducted a literature search to gather evidence regarding compliance in conducting briefings, outcomes of briefings, and surgical team members' perceptions toward the use and efficacy of checklist briefings. ⋯ The studies used a variety of methodologies and outcome measures. Common themes in the studies included enhanced patient safety, improved compliance over time, and increased communication among team members when checklists were used. As research continues on surgical safety checklists and briefings, a great opportunity exists for perioperative nurses to make contributions to the evidence.