Postoperative Complications, Surgical Sponges, Surgical Instruments, Retained Surgical Tools Clinical Trial
Official title:
Incidence of a Retained Surgical Device in Patients That Underwent Surgery
It has been estimated that in the United States alone 48 million operations are performed
annually and most involve the use of multiple surgical items, including needles and other
sharp objects, surgical sponges, and surgical instruments1. Textile material and instruments
forgotten in a patient undergoing an invasive procedure is a negligence of an entire team
responsible for maintaining patient safety. A retained surgical foreign body (RSFB) usually
requires at least a second surgery for retrieval of the object, and also carries a risk for
major complications including morbidity and death2. Retained foreign bodies are underreported
to minimize exposure to possible litigation3. Therefore, the real occurrence of RSFB is
underestimated, recently there has reported an incidence of 0.356 / 1,000 patients whereas
others reported a rate of 1/5000 with an associated mortality ranging from 11 to 35% 4-5.
Therefore, there is a need for improved systems and methods for identifying and tracking
surgical items, including needles and other sharp objects, surgical sponges, and surgical
instruments during a surgical procedure.
All cases investigated due to retained material during hospital surgical treatment will be included. Incidence, type of procedure performed, the prevalence and guilty of the personal actuating will be considered. ;