EP 078 Creating a Modified WHO Checklist for Renal Transplantation

Background

Redesigning World Health Organisation (WHO) checklist to suit the purposes of renal transplant and improve patient safety, and outcomes. Surgical safety isn’t just a surgical problem - it’s also a public health problem.

Methods

The original WHO surgical safety checklist was trialled over lack of safety and data. Use of the checklist was associated decreased adverse outcomes (death rates 1.5% v. 0.7%; any complication 11% v. 7%)

The WHO also encourage trusts to make local guidelines based off this – e.g. cardiothoracics and neurosurg at St George’s

Results

Includes comparisons between CT theatres and normal checklist, including a sample checklist for renal transplantation.

Conclusions

Any application of the surgical safety checklist has been shown to decrease adverse event rates as shown by the data. Designing local checklists helps to do this further and further suggestions such as how to implement this i.e. as an independent checklist or as an adjunct, other points to include specific to renal transplant e.g. K+ safety, inotrope choice, and introduction of the new checklist to clinical staff has been identified and open for discussion.