SynthesisAnesthesia and analgesia2012
Can we make postoperative patient handovers safer? A systematic review of the literature.
Synthesis in Anesthesia and analgesia, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03597932 (Intraoperative Handover Checklist of Anesthesia Care Improves Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery), which is not on this map. Cited by 64 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Intraoperative Handover Checklist of Anesthesia Care Improves Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery: a Multicenter, Before-after Cohort Study
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 251 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perioperative patient safety recommendations: systematic review of clinical practice guidelines.BJS open · 2024Pooled it
- Recommendations of the German Association of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (DGAI) on structured patient handover in the perioperative setting : The SBAR concept.Der Anaesthesist · 2016Guideline
- [Recommendations of the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine on structured patient handover in the perioperative phase : SBAR concept].Der Anaesthesist · 2016Guideline
- Patient safety, resident well-being and continuity of care with different resident duty schedules in the intensive care unit: a randomized trial.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2015Trial
- Handoffs and transitions in critical care (HATRICC): protocol for a mixed methods study of operating room to intensive care unit handoffs.BMC surgery · 2014Trial
- Application of the ISBAR bedside handover communication model in a pediatric hematology-oncology department: a pre-post intervention study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Development of a machine learning-derived model to predict unplanned ICU admissions after major non-cardiac surgery.BMC anesthesiology · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of ISBAR Protocol Implementation by Emergency Medicine Residents in Pediatric Handovers; A Pre-post Intervention Study.Archives of academic emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Handoffs and transitions of care in the intensive care unit: an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Critical Care Committee clinical consensus document.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2025Article
- Eye tracking during a simulated start of shift safety check: An observational analysis of gaze behavior of critical care nurses.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2024Article
- Article
- Intrahospital Handovers before and after the Implementation of ISBAR Communication: A Quality Improvement Study on ICU Nurses' Handovers to General Medical Ward Nurses.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2024Article
- Structured postoperative handover protocol improves efficiency and quality of interdisciplinary communication and nursing care in surgical intensive care unit: a randomized controlled trial.Updates in surgery · 2024Article
- Teamwork and mental workload in postsurgical pediatric patient handovers: Prospective effect evaluation of an improvement intervention for OR-PICU patient transitions.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
- Perceived Quality of Postoperative Handover by Saudi Nurses: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2023Article
- Article
- [Structured patient handover in high-risk areas : Evidence and recommendations for the practical implementation].Die Anaesthesiologie · 2023Review
- Handoffs and the challenges to implementing teamwork training in the perioperative environment.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- A pilot study to determine the incidence, type, and severity of non-routine events in neonates undergoing gastrostomy tube placement.Journal of pediatric surgery · 2022Article
- Assessment of postoperative patient handover practice and safety at post anesthesia care unit of Dilla University Referral Hospital, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2022Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Postoperative patient handovers are fraught with technical and communication errors and may negatively impact patient safety. We systematically reviewed the literature on handover of care from the operating room to postanesthesia or intensive care units and summarized process and communication recommendations based on these findings. From >500 papers, we identified 31 dealing with postoperative handovers. Twenty-four included recommendations for structuring the handover process or information transfer. Several recommendations were broadly supported, including (1) standardize processes (e.g., through the use of checklists and protocols); (2) complete urgent clinical tasks before the information transfer; (3) allow only patient-specific discussions during verbal handovers; (4) require that all relevant team members be present; and (5) provide training in team skills and communication. Only 4 of the studies developed an intervention and formally assessed its impact on different process measures. All 4 interventions improved metrics of effectiveness, efficiency, and perceived teamwork. Most of the papers were cross-sectional studies that identified barriers to safe, effective postoperative handovers including the incomplete transfer of information and other communication issues, inconsistent or incomplete teams, absent or inefficient execution of clinical tasks, and poor standardization. An association between poor-quality handovers and adverse events was also demonstrated. More innovative research is needed to define optimal patient handovers and to determine the effect of handover quality on patient outcomes.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.