Surgical errors – the WHO checklist bears fruit

[12 March 2009 - 08h16]

More than 6 months after the publication of its checklist setting out standardized safety requirements in respect of operating theatres, the WHO has produced a largely positive report on its results. Trials carried out in 8 pilot countries have in fact revealed a one third reduction in deaths and surgical complications.

This checklist is nothing more than a brief control protocol placed at the disposal of operating theatre teams . It is simply a matter of validating procedures at three critical stages: before anaesthesia is used, before incision and lastly, before leaving the operating area.

The study was conducted over one month in hospitals in 8 countries, both wealthy and under-developed: Tanzania, the Philippines, India and Jordan, the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Almost 7,700 patients were involved in this study. The results show that the rate of major complications following surgical intervention was brought down from 11% to 7% on average, which in fact corresponds to a one-third reduction. As for deaths, they decreased by as much as 40%. Dr Atul Gawande, responsible for drawing up the list, believes that the extent of these results is such as that the list could become as essential as the stethoscope in everyday medicine.

However, this optimism should not be allowed to mask the reservations of many specialists. Namely that individual strengthening of operating theatre controls will never be enough . Only a more rigorous checking of practitioner skills will seriously reduce surgical errors…

Source : WHO, January 2009

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