Spinal surgery complications: an unsolved problem-Is the World Health Organization Safety Surgical Checklist an useful tool to reduce them?

Barbanti-Brodano G, Griffoni C, Halme J, Tedesco G, Terzi S, Bandiera S, Ghermandi R, Evangelisti G, Girolami M, Pipola V, Gasbarrini A, Falavigna A. Spinal surgery complications: an unsolved problem-Is the World Health Organization Safety Surgical Checklist an useful tool to reduce them? Eur Spine J. Nov 6, 2019 .

Checklists are one tool for improving communication and reducing risk of adverse outcomes. The World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist has been previously studied in various surgical specialties; this study sought to determine its effectiveness in spinal surgeries. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis comparing the incidence of complications pre-checklist and post-checklist in a single center and found a significant reduction in the overall incidence of complications after the introduction of the checklist.

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