This trial aims to assess the effectiveness of quality improvement collaboratives as a technique to introduce large-scale change and improve outcomes for patients undergoing primary elective total hip or total knee arthroplasty. 41 NHS Trusts that did not have; a preoperative anaemia screening and optimisation pathways, or a methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus (MSSA) decolonisation pathway, in place were randomised to one of two parallel collaboratives in a two arm, cluster randomised controlled trial. Each collaborative focussed on implementing one of these two preoperative pathways. Collaboratives took place from May 2018 to November 2019. 27 Trusts completed the trial. Outcome data were collected for procedures between November 2018 and November 2019. Co-primary outcomes were perioperative blood transfusion (within 7 days of surgery) and deep surgical site infections (SSI) caused by MSSA (within 90 days) for the anaemia and MSSA arms respectively. Secondary outcomes include deep and superficial SSIs (any organism), length of stay, critical care admissions, and readmissions. Process measures include the proportion of patients receiving each preoperative initiative. 19,254 procedures from 27 Trusts are included. Process measures show both preoperative pathways were implemented to a high degree (75.3% compliance in MSSA arm; 61.2% anaemia arm), indicating that QICs can facilitate change in the NHS. However, there were no improvements in blood transfusions (2.9% v 2.3% adjusted-OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.52–2.75, p=0.67), MSSA deep SSIs (0.13% v 0.14% adjusted-OR 1.01, 95%CI 0.42–2.46, p=0.98), or any secondary outcome. Whilst no significant improvement in patient outcomes were seen, this trial shows quality improvement collaboratives can successfully support the implementation of new preoperative pathways in planned surgery in the NHS

Aim. The primary aim of this quality improvement project was to assess compliance with BOAST 4 guidelines for the delivery of antibiotic prophylaxis in patients presenting to a major trauma centre with open limb fracture and evaluate the impact of implemented changes on attainment of these guidelines. Secondary aims were to assess adherence to local guidelines for the type of antibiotic prescribed. Method. A multi-cycle audit and quality improvement project was carried out for all patients presenting to Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUH) with open limb fractures from 1st September 2018 to 31st January 2019, and 1. st. November 2019 to 31. st. March 2020. Patients were identified through retrospective screening of electronic operation records (Bluespier) by authors, and paper records were subsequently reviewed for data pertaining to antibiotic prescriptions. Following the initial audit cycle, targeted teaching was carried out for orthopaedic trainees, new posters were placed in key clinical areas to highlight local guidelines, and alterations to the trauma clerking proforma were implemented, to include BOAST 4 guidelines. Results. In cycle 1, a total of 52 patients received surgical treatment for open limb fractures, of which 48 (92.3%) were prescribed antibiotics prior to definitive management, with a mean time to administration of 271 minutes. Of these, 41 (78.8%) received prescriptions according to BSUH guidelines. The use of STAT prescriptions was found to significantly reduce the mean time to administration from 298 minutes to 144 minutes (p = 0.044). In cycle 2, a total of 29 patients received surgical treatment for open limb fractures, of which all 100% were prescribed antibiotics prior to definitive management, with a reduced mean time to administration (233 minutes). Of these, 26 (89.7%) received prescriptions according to BSUH guidelines, and a significantly greater proportion (p = 0.0003) received initial STAT ‘once-only’ prescriptions (51.7% vs. 15.4%). Conclusions. This quality improvement project has demonstrated the successful implementation of targeted changes to improve the attainment of BOAST 4 guidelines. Following a multi-cycle audit, all patients now receive antibiotic prophylaxis, with a higher proportion receiving antibiotics according to local BSUH guidelines. Furthermore, the use of STAT ‘once-only’ prescriptions, which was shown to be beneficial during the first audit cycle, has now significantly increased following intervention

Abstract. INTRODUCTION. In the NHS the structure of a “regular healthcare team” is no longer the case. The NHS is facing a workforce crisis where cross-covering of ward-based health professionals is at an all-time high, this includes nurses, doctors, therapists, pharmacists and clerks. Comprehensive post-operative care documentation is essential to maintain patient safety, reduce information clarification requests, delays in rehabilitation, treatment, and investigations. The value of complete surgical registry data is emerging, and in the UK this has recently become mandated, but the completeness of post-operative care documentation is not held to the same importance, and at present there is no published standard. This project summarises a 4-stage approach, including 6 audit cycles, >400 reviewed operation notes, over a 5 year period. OBJECTIVE. To deliver a sustainable change in post operative care documentation practices through quality improvement frameworks. METHODS. Stage 1: Characterise the problem and increase engagement through: SMART aims, process mapping, hybrid action-effect and driver diagram and stakeholder analysis. Multi disciplinary stakeholders were involved in achieving a consensus of evidence-based auditable criteria. Stage 2: Baseline audit to assess current practice. Stage 3: Intervention planning by stakeholders. Stage 4: Longitudinal monitoring through run charts and iterative refinement. RESULTS. Stage 1: Process mapping identified numerous downstream effects of the absence of critical information from operation notes, and the action-effect diagram highlighted the multiple unnecessary mitigating actions performed by ward staff. An MDT consensus was achieved on 15 essential criteria for complete documentation, including important negative fields. Interest-influence matrix identified stakeholder groups with high influence but low interest who needed engagement to deliver change. Stage 2: Baseline audit demonstrated unexpectedly poor documentation: >75% compliance in 4 criteria, and <50% compliance in 10 criteria, which elevated the interest of key stakeholders. Stage 3: A post-operative care template based on the 15 criteria was embedded within the existing IT software. It allowed use of existing operative templates, with a non-overwriting suffix requiring only two mouse clicks. Stage 4: Re-audit at 3 and 12 months showed improved and sustained compliance. At 24 months compliance had declined. Questionnaire of template usage identified problems of criteria response options, and lack of awareness of template by newly appointed staff. Template update improved compliance over the next 6 months (>75% compliance in 11 criteria). Finally, a further reaudit conducted 12 months after the template update (5 years post baseline audit) showed a sustained improvement in compliance (>75% compliance in 13 criteria). CONCLUSIONS. Simple innovation through quality improvement frameworks has changed documentation practices by 1) achieving a consensus from stakeholders, 2) a “shock and awe” moment to highlight existing poor documentation and increase engagement 3) implementing change which fit easily into existing systems, 4) respecting autonomy rather than enforcing change and 5) longitudinal monitoring using run charts and an iterative process to ensure the template remains fit for purpose. This model has now successfully been translated to other subspecialities within the orthopaedic department. Declaration of Interest. (b) declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported:I declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research project

Background. Surgical quality improvement has received increasing attention in recent years, yet it isn't clear where orthopaedic surgeons should focus their efforts for the greatest impact on peri-operative safety and quality. We sought to guide these efforts by prioritising orthopaedic procedures according to their relative contribution to overall morbidity, mortality, and excess length of stay. Methods. We used data from the American College of Surgeons' National Surgery Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) to identify all patients undergoing an orthopaedic procedure between 2005 and 2007 (n=7,970). Patients were assigned to 44 unique procedure groups based on Current Procedural and Terminology codes. We first assessed the relative contribution of each procedure group to overall morbidity and mortality in the first 30 days, and followed with a description of their relative contribution to excess length of stay. Results. Ten procedures accounted for 70% of adverse events and 64% of excess hospital days. Hip fracture repair accounted for the greatest share of adverse events, followed by total knee arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, revision total hip arthroplasty, knee arthroscopy, laminectomy, lumbar/thoracic arthrodesis, and femur fracture repair. In contrast, no other procedure group accounted for more than 2% of morbidity and mortality. Conclusion. Only a few procedures account for the vast majority of morbidity and mortality in orthopaedic surgery. Concentrating quality improvement efforts on these procedures may be an effective way for surgeons and other stakeholders to improve peri-operative care and reduce cost in orthopaedic surgery

Abstract. Introduction. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common post-operative complication which, in turn, significantly increases risk of other post-operative complications and mortality. This quality improvement project (QIP) aimed to evaluate and implement measures to decrease the incidence of AKI in post-operative Trauma and Orthopaedics (T&O) patients. Methods. Three data collection cycles were conducted using all T&O patients admitted to a single UK West Midlands NHS trust across three six-month periods between December 2018 and December 2020 (n=8215). Patients developing a post-operative AKI were identified using the Acute Kidney Injury Network criteria. Data was collected for these patients including demographic details and AKI risk factors such as ASA grade, hypovolaemia and use of nephrotoxic medications. Results. The percentage of post-operative AKI decreased from 2% (71 patients from 5899 operations) in the first cycles to 1.5% (19 from 1273 operations) by the final cycle. There was a high prevalence of modifiable risk factors for AKI, including post-operative hypovolaemia (50%) and use of nephrotoxic aminoglycosides (81%). Measures implemented between cycles included a pre-operative medication review identifying nephrotoxic medications, early post-operative assessment for consideration of intravenous fluids and junior doctor teaching on fluid therapy. There was a substantial decrease in use of multiple nephrotoxic medications (98% to 59%) and in use of aminoglycosides (88% to 42%) between the final cycles which may explain the reduction in observed AKI incidence. Conclusion. This QIP highlights the benefits of a multifaceted approach in the peri-operative period, through targeting of risk factors in preventing post-operative AKI

Many hospitals and orthopaedic surgery teams across Canada have instituted quality improvement (QI) programs for hip and knee arthroplasty. One of the common goals is to reduce hospital length of stay (LOS) in order to improve operational efficiency, patient flow and, by achieving this, provide improved access for patients to arthroplasty surgery. A common concern among surgeons and care providers is that hospital readmission rates will increase if LOS is significantly reduced. This study assesses the relationship between LOS and readmission rates in Alberta over a six year period during a focused QI initiative targeting LOS. Data from all patients undergoing primary elective total hip or knee arthroplasty in Alberta between 2010 and 2015 was captured through a provincial QI program. Patient characteristics captured included age, gender, joint replaced, and pre-surgical co-morbidities. Patient LOS and all-cause hospital readmissions within thirty days from the initial discharge were captured through provincial data repositories, including the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), operating room information systems, electronic medical records, and comorbidity risk grouper (CRG) data. Three longitudinal analyses were performed: 1) the crude and risk adjusted length of stay and 30-day readmission rates were calculated, 2) the population was grouped into two 3-year subsets and compared using t-test (acute LOS) and chi-square (30-day readmission), and 3) a multivariable regression analyses was performed to determine the rate of change and statistical significance in acute LOS and 30-day readmission between the two time periods. The number of patients undergoing elective lower extremity arthroplasty in the province during the six-year study period (2010–2015) was 48,760 patients. Fifty-nine percent were female and forty-one percent were male. Mean age of the cohort was 66.9 years. Thirty-nine percent of patients had a total hip arthroplasty and 61% had a total knee arthroplasty. Forty-five percent of patients had no pre-surgical risk factors, 27% had one risk factor, and 28% of the patients had 2 or more risk factors. During the quality improvement program risk-adjusted length of stay improved from a mean of 4.82 days (in 2010–2012) to 3.90 days (in 2013–2015) (p<0.01). Controlling for differences in age, sex, joint replaced, and pre-surgery risk factors, the acute LOS declined by 0.32 days between the two time periods (p<0.001). Quality improvement programs that target reduced LOS can avoid increasing 30-day hospital readmission rates. This has significant implications for inpatient resource utilisation for lower extremity arthroplasty surgery and for improving patient flow

Primary care physicians rely on radiology reports to confirm a scoliosis diagnosis and inform the need for spine specialist referral. In turn, spine specialists use these reports for triage decisions and planning of care. To be a valid predictor of disease and management, radiographic evaluation should include frontal and lateral views of the spine and a complete view of the pelvis, leading to accurate Cobb angle measurements and Risser staging. The study objectives were to determine 1) the adequacy of index images to inform treatment decisions at initial consultation by generating a score and 2) the utility of index radiology reports for appropriate triage decisions, by comparing reports to corresponding images.

We conducted a retrospective chart and radiographic review including all idiopathic scoliosis patients seen for initial consultation, aged three to 18 years, between January 1-April 30, 2021. A score was generated based on the adequacy of index images to provide accurate Cobb angle measurements and determine skeletal maturity (view of full spine, coronal=two, lateral=one, pelvis=one, ribcage=one). Index images were considered inadequate if repeat imaging was necessary. Comparisons were made between index radiology report, associated imaging, and new imaging if obtained at initial consultation. Major discrepancies were defined by inter-reader difference >15°, discordant Risser staging, or inaccuracies that led to inappropriate triage decisions. Location of index imaging, hospital versus community-based private clinic, was evaluated as a risk factor for inadequate or discrepant imaging.

There were 94 patients reviewed with 79% (n=74) requiring repeat imaging at initial consultation, of which 74% (n=55) were due to insufficient quality and/or visualization of the sagittal profile, pelvis or ribcage. Of index images available for review at initial consult (n=80), 41.2% scored five out of five and 32.5% scored two or below. New imaging showed that 50.0% of those patients had not been triaged appropriately, compared to 18.2% of patients with a full score. Comparing index radiology reports to initial visit evaluation with <60 days between imaging (n=49), discrepancies in Cobb angle were found in 24.5% (95% CI 14.6, 38.1) of patients, with 18.4% (95% CI 10.0, 31.4) categorized as major discrepancies. Risser stage was reported in only 14% of index radiology reports. In 13.8% (n=13) of the total cohort, surgical or brace treatment was recommended when not predicted based on index radiology report. Repeat radiograph (p=0.001, OR=8.38) and discrepancies (p=0.02, OR=7.96) were increased when index imaging was obtained at community-based private clinic compared to at a hospital. Re-evaluation of available index imaging demonstrated that 24.6% (95% CI 15.2, 37.1) of Cobb angles were mis-reported by six to 21 degrees.

Most pre-referral paediatric spine radiographs are inadequate for idiopathic scoliosis evaluation. Standardization of spine imaging and reporting should improve measurement accuracy, facilitate triage and decrease unnecessary radiation exposure.

Quality Improvement (QI) is of increasing importance with its inclusion on training curricula and requirement for it in revalidation. Junior Doctors are a valuable, yet under utilised resource for NHS Trusts in patient safety/Quality Improvement activity. A Trainee led QI Academy, supported and administered by Medical Education was launched in our Trust. It offered education on Leadership and Management and support for projects from the Trust Service and Development teams. The QI Academy launch evening attracted over 60 Trainees and 17 QI projects were adopted. Subsequently a further 9 projects have been started and a number published in peer reviewed journals and presented internationally. The Academy was an attractive and supportive method of engaging new groups of doctors. QI is not as constrained as simple audit, and as such, engaging trainees has proven to be easier. Collaboration between a Core Faculty, Trainees and Trust Management ensured adequate and sustainable support for all projects, avoided duplication and fostered a closer relationship. We highly recommend Trust support of QI in junior doctors through Medical Education. Trusts benefit from improvements in patient care and quality whilst trainees learn valuable skills and benefit from presentations and publications

Purpose & Background. The STarT Back risk-stratification approach uses the STarT Back Tool to categorise patients with low back pain (LBP) at low, medium or high-risk of persistent disabling pain, in order to match treatments. The MATCH trial (NCT02286141) evaluated the effect of implementing an adaptation of this approach in a United States healthcare setting. Methods. This was a pragmatic cluster randomised trial with a pre-intervention baseline period. Six primary care clinics were pair-randomised, three to an intensive stratified care quality improvement intervention and three as controls. LBP patients were invited to provide outcomes two weeks after their primary care visit, and two and six months later. Primary outcomes were physical function (RMDQ) and pain (0–10 NRS), and secondary outcomes including healthcare use and treatments provided received. Analysis was intention-to-treat. Results. Patient outcomes were obtained from intervention (n=690) and control (n=864) clinics. At six months between-group differences in adjusted mean change scores did not significantly favour stratified care for RMDQ; 0.50 (95%CI −0.55, 1.55) or pain NRS 0.13 (95%CI −0.37, 0.63). There were no significant between group differences in any secondary patient outcome. Process data showed that the STarT Back tool was used with 47% of LBP patients in the intervention clinics but there was no differences in the treatments provided. Conclusions. Implementation of a LBP stratified care approach in this United States healthcare setting showed moderate use of the STarT Back tool, but no change in treatments received by patients, and no benefits on patient outcomes. Conflicts of interest: None. Sources of funding: Funding for this trial was provided by the Patient Centered Care Research Institute (“Evaluation of a Patient-Centered Risk Stratification Method for Improving Primary Care for Back Pain”: Contract #398) and by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health/NIH (“Implementing Evidence-Based Treatments for Persistent Back Pain into Primary Care”: Grant #R21AT0007326). Martin Levine, Diane Piekara, and Pam Rock received support to participate in the quality improvement activities from Group Health. Nadine Foster and Jonathan Hill were supported through an NIHR Research Professorship (NIHR-RP-011-015) to Nadine Foster. Nadine Foster is an NIHR Senior Investigator. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Patient Centered Care Research Institute, NIH, NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health

There are a variety of patient and surgical factors shown to increase post-operative complication risk for a total hip arthroplasty (THA). While many studies have linked patient and surgical factors to unsuccessful outcomes post total hip arthroplasty (THA), no study has attempted to correlate the infiuence of these factors to the positioning of the acetabular cup. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation exists between patient and surgical factors and the anatomical position of the acetabular component.

Data for 2063 patients from 2004–2008 who underwent a primary total hip arthroplasty (THA), revision THA, or Birmingham Hip Resurfacing procedure was compiled. The post- op anteroposterior pelvis (AP) and the cross table lateral digital radiographs for each patient were measured to determine cup inclination and version. Acceptable angle ranges were defined as 30–45° for abduction, and 5–25° for version. Correlations between variables and cup abduction and version angles were determined with SPSS™ statistical software.

There were 1954(95%) qualifying patients. There were 1218(62%) acetabular cups that fell within the 30–45° optimal abduction range, and 1576(87%) cups in the 5–25° optimal version range. There were 921(47%) patients that had both inclination and version angles that fell within the optimal range. Regression analysis showed that surgical approach (p> 0.001), high/low volume surgeon (p< 0.001), and obesity (BMI > 30, p=0.01) were independent predictors for abduction and version combined analysis. Both surgical approach (p< 0.001) and BMI (p=0.018) were independent predictors in the individual analysis of both abduction and version. High/low volume surgeon was significant for the independent analysis of abduction (p=0.013). In the combined analysis, low volume surgeons showed a 2 fold increase (95% C.I. 1.5–2.8) in risk for cup malpositioning compared to high volume surgeons. The MIS surgical approach showed a 6 fold increase (95% C.I. 3.5–10.7) in risk for cup malpositioning compared to the posterolateral approach. Obesity (BMI> 30) showed a 1.3 fold increase (95% C.I. 1.1–1.7) in risk for cup malpositioning compared to all other body mass index groups.

Posterolateral surgical approach was superior to MIS surgical approaches for independent and combined abduction and version analysis. High volume surgeons had greater accuracy for cup positioning, specifically for achieving optimal cup abduction angle. Compared to all other body mass index categories, patients that were obese (BMI> 30) displayed a greater risk for cup malpositioning for independent and combined abduction and version analysis. Further statistical analyses on patient and surgical variables and their infiuence on cup position at a lower volume medical center would provide a valuable data comparison.

Introduction

The correction of paediatric scoliosis is a surgical procedure in which substantial bleeding occurs, and which historically has been associated with high levels of blood transfusion. Transfusions are associated with risks of infection, allergic reactions, volume overload and immunosuppression.

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of a care pathway implemented at St Thomas' hospital over ten years with a focus on minimising the need for blood transfusions. A Spinal Surgery Care Pathway was developed including: nurse-led clinics facilitating pre-operative haemoglobin optimisation; intra operative cell-salvage, the use of tranexamic acid, and a transfusion criteria awareness programme.

Aims. National hip fracture registries audit similar aspects of care but there is variation in the actual data collected; these differences restrict international comparison, benchmarking, and research. The Fragility Fracture Network (FFN) published a revised minimum common dataset (MCD) in 2022 to improve consistency and interoperability. Our aim was to assess compatibility of existing registries with the MCD. Methods. We compared 17 hip fracture registries covering 20 countries (Argentina; Australia and New Zealand; China; Denmark; England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; Germany; Holland; Ireland; Japan; Mexico; Norway; Pakistan; the Philippines; Scotland; South Korea; Spain; and Sweden), setting each of these against the 20 core and 12 optional fields of the MCD. Results. The highest MCD adherence was demonstrated by the most recently established registries. The first-generation registries in Scandinavia collect data for 60% of MCD fields, second-generation registries (UK, other European, and Australia and New Zealand) collect for 75%, and third-generation registries collect data for 85% of MCD fields. Five of the 20 core fields were collected by all 17 registries (age; sex; surgery date/time of operation; surgery type; and death during acute admission). Two fields were collected by most (16/17; 94%) registries (date/time of presentation and American Society of Anesthesiologists grade), and five more by the majority (15/17; 88%) registries (type, side, and pathological nature of fracture; anaesthetic modality; and discharge destination). Three core fields were each collected by only 11/17 (65%) registries: prefracture mobility/activities of daily living; cognition on admission; and bone protection medication prescription. Conclusion. There is moderate but improving compatibility between existing registries and the FFN MCD, and its introduction in 2022 was associated with an improved level of adherence among the most recently established programmes. Greater interoperability could be facilitated by improving consistency of data collection relating to prefracture function, cognition, bone protection, and follow-up duration, and this could improve international collaborative benchmarking, research, and quality improvement. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2023;105-B(9):1013–1019

Data of high quality are critical for the meaningful interpretation of registry information. The National Joint Registry (NJR) was established in 2002 as the result of an unexpectedly high failure rate of a cemented total hip arthroplasty. The NJR began data collection in 2003. In this study we report on the outcomes following the establishment of a formal data quality (DQ) audit process within the NJR, within which each patient episode entry is validated against the hospital unit’s Patient Administration System and vice-versa. This process enables bidirectional validation of every NJR entry and retrospective correction of any errors in the dataset. In 2014/15 baseline average compliance was 92.6% and this increased year-on-year with repeated audit cycles to 96.0% in 2018/19, with 76.4% of units achieving > 95% compliance. Following the closure of the audit cycle, an overall compliance rate of 97.9% was achieved for the 2018/19 period. An automated system was initiated in 2018 to reduce administrative burden and to integrate the DQ process into standard workflows. Our processes and quality improvement results demonstrate that DQ may be implemented successfully at national level, while minimizing the burden on hospitals. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2022;3(9):716–725

Aims. Supracondylar fractures are the most frequently occurring paediatric fractures about the elbow and may be associated with a neurovascular injury. The British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma 11 (BOAST 11) guidelines describe best practice for supracondylar fracture management. This study aimed to assess whether emergency departments in the United Kingdom adhere to BOAST 11 standard 1: a documented assessment, performed on presentation, must include the status of the radial pulse, digital capillary refill time, and the individual function of the radial, median (including the anterior interosseous), and ulnar nerves. . Materials and Methods. Stage 1: We conducted a multicentre, retrospective audit of adherence to BOAST 11 standard 1. Data were collected from eight hospitals in the United Kingdom. A total of 433 children with Gartland type 2 or 3 supracondylar fractures were eligible for inclusion. A centrally created data collection sheet was used to guide objective analysis of whether BOAST 11 standard 1 was adhered to. Stage 2: We created a quality improvement proforma for use in emergency departments. This was piloted in one of the hospitals used in the primary audit and was re-audited using equivalent methodology. In all, 102 patients presenting between January 2016 and July 2017 were eligible for inclusion in the re-audit. Results. Stage 1: Of 433 patient notes audited, adherence to BOAST 11 standard 1 was between 201 (46%) and 232 (54%) for the motor and sensory function of the individual nerves specified, 318 (73%) for radial pulse, and 247 (57%) for digital capillary refill time. Stage 2: Of 102 patient notes audited, adherence to BOAST 11 standard 1 improved to between 72 (71%) and 80 (78%) for motor and sensory function of the nerves, to 84 (82%) for radial pulse, and to 82 (80%) for digital capillary refill time. Of the 102 case notes reviewed in stage 2, only 44 (43%) used the quality improvement proforma; when the proforma was used, adherence improved to between 40 (91%) and 43 (98%) throughout. Conclusion. Adherence to BOAST 11 standard 1 is poor in hospitals across the country. This is concerning as neurovascular deficit may be an indication for emergent surgery, and missed neurovascular injury can cause long-term, or even permanent, functional impairment. We present a simple proforma that improves adherence to this standard, can easily be implemented into emergency departments, and may improve patient safety. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:346–51

Aims

Elective orthopaedic surgery was cancelled early in the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently running at significantly reduced capacity in most institutions. This has resulted in a significant backlog to treatment, with some hospitals projecting that waiting times for arthroplasty is three times the pre-COVID-19 duration. There is concern that the patient group requiring arthroplasty are often older and have more medical comorbidities—the same group of patients advised they are at higher risk of mortality from catching COVID-19. The aim of this study is to investigate the morbidity and mortality in elective patients operated on during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare this to a pre-pandemic cohort. Primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes were perioperative complications, including nosocomial COVID-19 infection. These operations were performed in a district general hospital, with COVID-19 acute admissions in the same building.

Aims

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a pilot enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme on length of stay (LOS) and post-discharge resource usage via service evaluation and cost analysis.

Aims

Surgical costs are a major component of healthcare expenditures in the USA. Intraoperative communication is a key factor contributing to patient outcomes. However, the effectiveness of communication is only partially determined by the surgeon, and understanding how non-surgeon personnel affect intraoperative communication is critical for the development of safe and cost-effective staffing guidelines. Operative efficiency is also dependent on high-functioning teams and can offer a proxy for effective communication in highly standardized procedures like primary total hip and knee arthroplasty. We aimed to evaluate how the composition and dynamics of surgical teams impact operative efficiency during arthroplasty.

In the current healthcare environment, cost containment has become more important than ever. Perioperative services are often scrutinized as they consume more than 30% of North American hospitals’ budgets. The procurement, processing, and use of sterile surgical inventory is a major component of the perioperative care budget and has been recognized as an area of operational inefficiency. Although a recent systematic review supported the optimization of surgical inventory reprocessing as a means to increase efficiency and eliminate waste, there is a paucity of data on how to actually implement this change. A well-studied and established approach to implementing organizational change is Kotter's Change Model (KCM). The KCM process posits that organizational change can be facilitated by a dynamic 8-step approach and has been increasingly applied to the healthcare setting to facilitate the implementation of quality improvement (QI) interventions. We performed an inventory optimization (IO) to improve inventory and instrument reprocessing efficiency for the purpose of cost containment using the KCM framework. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to implement the IO using KCM, overcome organizational barriers to change, and measure key outcome metrics related to surgical inventory and corresponding clinician satisfaction. We hypothesized that the KCM would be an effective method of implementing the IO. This study was conducted at a tertiary academic hospital across the four highest-volume surgical services - Orthopedics, Otolaryngology, General Surgery, and Gynecology. The IO was implemented using the steps outlined by KCM (Figure 1): 1) create coalition, 2) create vision for change, 3) establish urgency, 4) communicate the vision, 5) empower broad based action, 6) generate general short term wins, 7) consolidate gains, and 8) anchor change. This process was evaluated using inventory metrics - total inventory reduction and depreciation cost savings; operational efficiency metrics - reprocessing labor efficiency and case cancellation rate; and clinician satisfaction. The implementation of KCM is described in Table 1. Total inventory was reduced by 37.7% with an average tray size reduction of 18.0%. This led to a total reprocessing time savings of 1333 hours per annum and labour cost savings of $39 995 per annum. Depreciation cost savings was $64 320 per annum. Case cancellation rate due to instrument-related errors decreased from 3.9% to 0.2%. The proportion of staff completely satisfied with the inventory was 1.7% pre-IO and 80% post-IO. This was the first study to show the success of applying KCM to facilitate change in the perioperative setting with respect to surgical inventory. We have outlined the important organizational obstacles faced when making changes to surgical inventory. The same KCM protocol can be followed for optimization processes for disposable versus reusable surgical device purchasing or perioperative scheduling. Although increasing efforts are being dedicated to quality improvement and efficiency, institutions will need an organized and systematic approach such as the KCM to successfully enact changes. For any figures or tables, please contact the authors directly

As patient data continues to grow, the importance of efficient and precise analysis cannot be overstated. The employment of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Chat GPT-4, in the realm of medical data interpretation has been on the rise. However, its effectiveness in comparison to manual data analysis has been insufficiently investigated. This quality improvement project aimed to evaluate the accuracy and time-efficiency of Generative AI (GPT-4) against manual data interpretation within extensive datasets pertaining to patients with orthopaedic injuries. A dataset, containing details of 6,562 orthopaedic trauma patients admitted to a district general hospital over a span of two years, was reviewed. Two researchers operated independently: one utilised GPT-4 for insights via prompts, while the other manually examined the identical dataset employing Microsoft Excel and IBM® SPSS® software. Both were blinded on each other's procedures and outcomes. Each researcher answered 20 questions based on the dataset including injury details, age groups, injury specifics, activity trends and the duration taken to assess the data. Upon comparison, both GPT-4 and the manual researcher achieved consistent results for 19 out of the 20 questions (95% accuracy). After a subsequent review and refined prompts (prompt engineering) to GPT-4, the answer to the final question aligned with the manual researcher's findings. GPT-4 required just 30 minutes, a stark contrast to the manual researcher's 9-hour analytical duration. This quality improvement project emphasises the transformative potential of Generative AI in the domain of medical data analysis. GPT-4 not only paralleled the accuracy of manual analysis but also achieved this in significantly less time. For optimal accurate results, data analysis by AI can be enhanced through human oversight. Adopting AI-driven approaches, particularly in orthopaedic data interpretation, can enhance efficiency and ultimately improve patient care. We recommend future investigations on large and more varied datasets to reaffirm these outcomes

Total knee and hip arthroplasty (TKA and THA) are two of the highest volume and resource intensive surgical procedures. Key drivers of the cost of surgical care are duration of surgery (DOS) and postoperative inpatient length of stay (LOS). The ability to predict TKA and THA DOS and LOS has substantial implications for hospital finances, scheduling and resource allocation. The goal of this study was to predict DOS and LOS for elective unilateral TKAs and THAs using machine learning models (MLMs) constructed on preoperative patient factors using a large North American database. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical and Quality Improvement (NSQIP) database was queried for elective unilateral TKA and THA procedures from 2014-2019. The dataset was split into training, validation and testing based on year. Multiple conventional and deep MLMs such as linear, tree-based and multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) were constructed. The models with best performance on the validation set were evaluated on the testing set. Models were evaluated according to 1) mean squared error (MSE), 2) buffer accuracy (the number of times the predicted target was within a predesignated buffer of the actual target), and 3) classification accuracy (the number of times the correct class was predicted by the models). To ensure useful predictions, the results of the models were compared to a mean regressor. A total of 499,432 patients (TKA 302,490; THA 196,942) were included. The MLP models had the best MSEs and accuracy across both TKA and THA patients. During testing, the TKA MSEs for DOS and LOS were 0.893 and 0.688 while the THA MSEs for DOS and LOS were 0.895 and 0.691. The TKA DOS 30-minute buffer accuracy and ≤120 min, >120 min classification accuracy were 78.8% and 88.3%, while the TKA LOS 1-day buffer accuracy and ≤2 days, >2 days classification accuracy were 75.2% and 76.1%. The THA DOS 30-minute buffer accuracy and ≤120 min, >120 min classification accuracy were 81.6% and 91.4%, while the THA LOS 1-day buffer accuracy and ≤2 days, >2 days classification accuracy were 78.3% and 80.4%. All models across both TKA and THA patients were more accurate than the mean regressors for both DOS and LOS predictions across both buffer and classification accuracies. Conventional and deep MLMs have been effectively implemented to predict the DOS and LOS of elective unilateral TKA and THA patients based on preoperative patient factors using a large North American database with a high level of accuracy. Future work should include using operational factors to further refine these models and improve predictive accuracy. Results of this work will allow institutions to optimize their resource allocation, reduce costs and improve surgical scheduling. Acknowledgements:. The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the hospitals participating in the ACS NSQIP are the source of the data used herein; they have not verified and are not responsible for the statistical validity of the data analysis or the conclusions derived by the authors