Discover how the latest protocol is revolutionizing elective orthopaedic surgery by significantly reducing cancellations linked to asymptomatic bacteriuria, ensuring more patients receive timely and efficient care.
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Introduction of a New Protocol to Limit the Number of Cancelled Elective Orthopaedic Operations Due to Asymptomatic Bacteriuria.
Taylor et al., Cureus 2023
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51097
New Protocol Reduces Surgery Cancellations Due to Asymptomatic Bacteriuria
Importance: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) often leads to unnecessary surgery cancellations. A new protocol focusing on patient symptoms rather than urinalysis results may improve theatre utilization and reduce cancellations.
Study Overview: An audit was conducted on 78 elective orthopaedic surgery patients at a district general hospital. The study compared cancellations due to UTI risk before and after implementing a new protocol that prioritizes symptoms over urinalysis results.
Results: Initially, 21.2% (7 out of 33) of surgeries were cancelled due to positive urinalysis, with only one patient showing symptoms. Post-protocol, only 4.4% (2 out of 45) were cancelled based on symptoms. The new protocol potentially reduced surgery cancellations by 71.4%.
Conclusions: The new symptom-focused protocol significantly decreased the number of elective surgeries cancelled due to ASB, enhancing theatre efficiency. This approach aligns with the literature suggesting that ASB should not be a sole factor for cancellation.
Contribution to Literature: This study contributes to the current literature by providing evidence that a symptom-based protocol can effectively reduce unnecessary surgery cancellations associated with ASB, optimizing resource utilization in healthcare settings.