Four UK hospitals have achieved a huge reduction in the number of patients dying following emergency abdominal surgery, after adopting a ‘care bundle’ devised by patient safety specialists.
The care bundle was developed at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford and implemented in the Royal United Hospital Bath, Torbay Hospital and the Royal Devon, and Exeter Hospital, and the results of its implementation were analysed by academics at the University of Bradford.
Over the study period, the overall death rate for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery fell from 16 per cent to 10 per cent – a 38 per cent reduction in death rate.
Included in the care bundle are five elements: an initial assessment with early warning scores; delivery of early antibiotics; a maximum of six hours between the decision to operate and surgery; goal-directed fluid therapy; and post-operative intensive care.
Mohammed A. Mohammed, professor of healthcare quality and effectiveness at the University of Bradford, who co-authored the research, said: “Emergency abdominal operations are known to have a very high…
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