Preparing for Total Power Failure in the Operating Room.

Total electrical power failure in the operating room is an uncommon event, but when it occurs, it poses a major threat to patient safety. Perhaps the most curable threat to patient safety is the lack of provider knowledge regarding what equipment capabilities will be lost and how long devices will function on battery power. The purpose of this project was to determine the internal battery-related capabilities and duration of function of site-specific anesthesia equipment during a total power failure and to develop a power failure protocol.

Identifying Components Necessary for an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Pathway for Elective Intracranial Surgery: An Improvement Project Using the Quality of Recovery-15 Score.

Objective: To identify the domains of recovery, as determined by the Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) score, that needed improvement to develop initial interventions for an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol for patients undergoing elective intracranial surgery under general anesthesia.

Methods: A paired-availability design was used to assess 2 groups of 41 patients undergoing elective intracranial surgery. The baseline QoR-15 score and scores 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours after arrival in the intensive care unit characterized the postoperative recovery trajectory.

Implementation of Vulnerable Elders Survey-13 Frailty Tool to Identify At-Risk Geriatric Surgical Patients.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this project was to preoperatively identify frail and vulnerable geriatric patients aged 65 or older using the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) tool, and to use those scores to assist with perioperative decision-making.

Design: This feasibility study was implemented as a quality improvement initiative with a postimplementation group only.

Methods: The VES-13 was introduced to the perioperative nursing staff and anesthesia providers and then added to the traditional preoperative assessment.

Nursing Perceptions and Workload Impact of a Standardized Emergence Delirium Assessment Scale in a Postanesthesia Care Unit.

Purpose: Emergence delirium (EDL) is a psychomotor behavioral phenomenon that occurs immediately after emergence from general anesthesia. EDL is nearly 1.5 times more common among military than nonmilitary patients.

Preemptive Oral Acetaminophen for Women Undergoing Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy.

Objective: To decrease hospital expenses by administering oral acetaminophen rather than intravenous (IV) acetaminophen to women who undergo laparoscopic hysterectomy.

Design: A quality improvement project using a between-groups, pre-/postimplementation design for women undergoing total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Retrospective chart review was used to compare data of women who received intraoperative IV acetaminophen before implementation versus women who received oral acetaminophen after implementation.