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Observational Study
. 2022 Nov;116(5):416-424.
doi: 10.1002/aorn.13807.

Strategies for Safely Maintaining Surgical Volume During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

Jill S Kinch  1 , Kim Isenberg  2 , Lexie Vaughn  3 , Barbara Shultz  4 , Jeffrey S Upperman  5
Affiliations
Observational Study

Strategies for Safely Maintaining Surgical Volume During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

Jill S Kinch et al. AORN J. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Resuming elective surgeries that were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a change to preprocedure patient preparation at a pediatric tertiary care center in middle Tennessee. We conducted a prospective, observational, mixed-methods study to determine the effectiveness of a preprocedure COVID-19 testing team to prevent COVID-19-related cancellations among pediatric patients receiving planned anesthesia. The intervention involved family member and patient education and a change in health record reporting to include COVID-19 test results. A team tasked with follow-up reviewed test results, consulted with families, and coordinated the administration of rapid tests if necessary. We compared preimplementation and postimplementation cancellation rates in four procedural areas and found no significant difference in the cancellation or rescheduling rates (P = .89, 95% confidence interval = -4.29 to 3.09). The team-based intervention was associated with the preservation of low procedural cancellation rates by mitigating barriers to preprocedural testing.

Keywords: perioperative surgical home (PSH); preprocedure COVID-19 testing; reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing; surgery cancellation rates; surgical volume maintenance.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time and symptom clearance protocol for patients who previously tested positive for COVID‐19 at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN. RT‐PCR = reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; NP = nurse practitioner; EMR = electronic medical record; PCTT = preprocedure COVID‐19 testing team; PACU = postanesthesia care unit.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results of weekly asymptomatic preprocedure COVID‐19 testing from May 4, 2020, through March 1, 2021, at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of preimplementation and postimplementation cancellation rates (including COVID‐19–related surgical cancellation rate) at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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