Retained Surgical Items
March 2013
CHPSO and Dr. Verna Gibbs, Director of NoThing Left
Behind, have been leading a multi-state collaborative with
patient safety leaders in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, North
Carolina, Nebraska and Tennessee to collect and analyze events
related to retained surgical items, with a particular interest in
small miscellaneous items (SMI) or un-retrieved device fragments
(UDF). These items are often pieces or fragments that have broken
off during surgery, like screws, wires, drill bits, suction tips,
and tips from tunneling devices.Because they are often small in
nature and can be difficult to remove, clinicians often minimize
their importance as a patient safety issue. However, these items
can dislodge and migrate to other areas of the body. Metal
objects can become heated when a patient undergoes a MRI.
Most of the cases involving UDFs (38%) occurred during orthopedic
procedures. The second largest number (28%) occurred during
vascular procedures, where pieces or entire guidewires, sheaths,
and stents were retained.
Why do they occur?
Catheter and guidewire fractures may be caused by the use of inappropriate techniques, such as withdrawing a catheter through or over a needle, shaping a device to conform to the patient’s anatomy when the device wasn’t designed to be reshaped, using undue force or torque (rotational force) on insertion or withdrawal, improperly manipulating a catheter using devices that are too small or too large, or using a device for an off-label purpose. Other SMIs may be caused by manufacturer defects, worn equipment, new or unfamiliar devices or devices with multiple separable parts.
How can these be prevented?
The degree to which human factors are involved in the cause of
these events remains unclear. Additional information and analysis
are needed to determine the extent to which lack of training and
inappropriate device usage are causal factors in these patient
safety events. CHPSO members are encouraged to continue
submitting information on events related to retained surgical
items.
The presentation from our Feb. 1, 2013 webinar,
Retained Surgical Items: The Bits and Pieces, Results from the
Multi-State Collaborative Effort,led by Drs. Gibbs and Jaffe,
is available to CHPSO members on our website. To obtain member
access, select the “Member
access login/sign up” link on the CHPSO website.