Frequency, nature and timing of clinical deterioration in the early postoperative period

To establish the frequency of clinical deterioration in the early postoperative period in patients who have undergone general or orthopaedic surgery.

Worldwide, clinical deterioration is a significant problem in acute care settings. Early recognition and response to clinical deterioration is one of the ten National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards in Australia. However, there is limited understanding of the frequency of clinical deterioration in surgical patients.

A point prevalence study was conducted from September-October 2014. The records of 100 consecutive in patients admitted for orthopaedic (n = 48) or general surgery (n = 52) to a health service in Melbourne, Australia, were audited. The frequency of clinical deterioration episodes was summarised using descriptive statistics.

Baseline characteristics of the two patient groups were equivalent except that orthopaedic patients were older than the general surgery patients (median age 71 [IQR 19] years vs. 62 [IQR 17] years). There were 17 medical emergency team calls and 23 calls for urgent clinical review in 28 patients. The main indications for emergency calls were hypotension (26%), fever (19%), hypoxia (15%), tachycardia (13%) and altered blood glucose level (11%). The majority of episodes were managed on the ward, and there were one ICU transfer and no cardiac arrest calls.

One in four patients experienced early postoperative clinical deterioration. Hypotension was the most common trigger for escalation of care highlighting a need to optimise fluid and haemodynamic management of postoperative patients.

Haemodynamic instability leading to the activation of rapid response systems is very common in the immediate postoperative period. There is the need for locally tailored interventions to optimise fluid management and decrease incidence of further complications.