Checklists in Neurosurgery to Decrease Preventable Medical Errors: A Review.

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Patient Safety
• Medical Checklists

Background:

• Neurosurgery demands zero tolerance for medical errors, including wrong-site surgery, incorrect patient positioning, and device failures.
• Safety checklists have demonstrated success in intensive care and other surgical fields, leading to their adoption in neurosurgery.
• Current global data on neurosurgical checklists is limited, with fewer than 20,000 cases reported across 15 series.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review reported neurosurgical checklists.
• To analyze checklists based on parameters such as publication year, country, neurosurgical area, procedure type, and personnel involved.
• To assess checklist effectiveness in preventing specific neurosurgical errors and complications, and to evaluate their aims, training, time, barriers, and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive review of published neurosurgical checklist studies.
• Analysis of checklist parameters including implementation, team involvement, and error prevention capabilities.
• Evaluation of safety outcomes and team feedback associated with checklist use.

Main Results:

• Neurosurgical checklists are effective in preventing wrong-site surgery, complications from incorrect patient positioning, and device failures.
• Checklists are efficient, reliable, cost-effective, and time-saving tools.
• Implementation barriers and team appreciation vary, but overall safety outcomes are positive.

Conclusions:

• Neurosurgical checklists are valuable tools for enhancing patient safety and surgeon confidence.
• Each neurosurgical department should develop or adapt a checklist to its specific needs to foster a safety culture.
• Neurosurgical societies should promote the adoption and benefits of safety checklists globally.