An audit of comparison of perioperative outcomes with the introduction of standardized preoperative evaluation form at a tertiary care hospital in rural India

INTRODUCTION: Preoperative evaluation of a patient is the fundamental component of anaesthetic practice. Inadequate documentation and record keeping on the preoperative evaluation form (PEF) can be a major obstacle to attaining good practice and improving patient outcomes following operative procedures. AIM: The aim of the study was to conduct an audit to assess the quality of the preoperative anaesthetic information gathered and to observe the quality profile after the introduction of a standardized pre-operative evaluation form. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective study, using a sample of 3000 files of patients who underwent elective surgery in a tertiary care hospital of rural India. We devised 11 quality indicators, looking at factors in the pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative period, and used them to audit 3000 patient records in our Hospital. RESULTS: We found several areas where quality could be significantly improved;last minute postponement/change of plan of planned surgeries has reduced from 134 (8.9%) to 23 (1.53%) cases after implementation of standardised PEF. 784 (52.26%) patients were not formally handed over to the theatre recovery staff before implementation of standardised PEF compared to 147(9.8%) after implementation of standardised PEF. CONCLUSION: This audit found several areas of practice that fall below expected standards before the introduction of standardised PEF, but after the introduction of standardised PEF there is a significant improvement in quality of pre anaesthetic evaluation and overall outcome of the patient. We therefore advocate the use of such standardised PEFs for performing preoperative and perioperative assessment of surgical patients.