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Abstract Background Retained foreign objects (RFO) after surgery are rare, serious patient safety events. In international comparisons based on routine data, Switzerland had remarkably high RFO rates. The objectives of this study were to 1) explore national key stakeholders’ views on RFO as a safety problem, its preventability and need for action in Switzerland; and 2) to assess their interpretation of Switzerland’s RFO incidence compared to other countries. Methods A semi-structured expert survey was conducted among national key representatives, including clinician experts, patient advocates, health administration representatives and other relevant stakeholders (n = 21). Data were coded and analyzed to generate themes related to the study questions following a deductive approach. Results Experts in this study unequivocally emphasized the tragedy for individual patients affected by RFOs. Productivity pressure and the strong economization of operating rooms were perceived as detrimental to safety culture, which was seen as essential for RFO prevention, specifically by those working in the OR. RFOs were seen as “maximally minimizable” but not completely preventable. There was strong agreement that within country differences in RFO risk between Swiss hospitals existed. On the systems level and compared to other safety issues, RFO were having less urgency for most experts. The international comparison of RFO incidences raised serious skepticism across all groups of experts. The validity of the data was questioned and the dominant interpretation of Switzerland’s high RFO incidence compared to other countries was a “reporting artifact” based on high coding quality in Swiss hospitals. While most experts thought that the published RFO incidence warrants in-depth analysis of the data, there was little agreement about who’s role it was to initiate any further activities. Conclusions This investigation offers valuable insights into the perspectives of significant stakeholders concerning RFOs, their root causes, and preventability. The findings demonstrate how international comparative safety data are perceived, interpreted, and utilized by national experts to derive conclusive insights.

Purpose: Although a novel deep learning software was proposed using post-processed images obtained by the fusion between X-ray images of normal post-operative radiography and surgical sponge, the association of the retained surgical item detectability with human visual evaluation has not been sufficiently examined. In this study, we investigated the association of retained surgical item detectability between deep learning and human subjective evaluation. Methods: A deep learning model was constructed from 2987 training images and 1298 validation images, which were obtained from post-processing of the image fusion between X-ray images of normal post-operative radiography and surgical sponge. Then, another 800 images were used, i.e., 400 with and 400 without surgical sponge. The detection characteristics of retained sponges between the model and a general observer with 10-year clinical experience were analyzed using the receiver operator characteristics. Results: The following values from the deep learning model and observer were, respectively, derived: Cutoff values of probability were 0.37 and 0.45; areas under the curves were 0.87 and 0.76; sensitivity values were 85% and 61%; and specificity values were 73% and 92%. Conclusion: For the detection of surgical sponges, we concluded that the deep learning model has higher sensitivity, while the human observer has higher specificity. These characteristics indicate that the deep learning system that is complementary to humans could support the clinical workflow in operation rooms for prevention of retained surgical items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Retained foreign objects (RFO) after surgery are rare, serious patient safety events. In international comparisons based on routine data, Switzerland had remarkably high RFO rates. The objectives of this study were to 1) explore national key stakeholders' views on RFO as a safety problem, its preventability and need for action in Switzerland; and 2) to assess their interpretation of Switzerland's RFO incidence compared to other countries. Methods: A semi-structured expert survey was conducted among national key representatives, including clinician experts, patient advocates, health administration representatives and other relevant stakeholders (n = 21). Data were coded and analyzed to generate themes related to the study questions following a deductive approach. Results: Experts in this study unequivocally emphasized the tragedy for individual patients affected by RFOs. Productivity pressure and the strong economization of operating rooms were perceived as detrimental to safety culture, which was seen as essential for RFO prevention, specifically by those working in the OR. RFOs were seen as "maximally minimizable" but not completely preventable. There was strong agreement that within country differences in RFO risk between Swiss hospitals existed. On the systems level and compared to other safety issues, RFO were having less urgency for most experts. The international comparison of RFO incidences raised serious skepticism across all groups of experts. The validity of the data was questioned and the dominant interpretation of Switzerland's high RFO incidence compared to other countries was a "reporting artifact" based on high coding quality in Swiss hospitals. While most experts thought that the published RFO incidence warrants in-depth analysis of the data, there was little agreement about who's role it was to initiate any further activities. Conclusions: This investigation offers valuable insights into the perspectives of significant stakeholders concerning RFOs, their root causes, and preventability. The findings demonstrate how international comparative safety data are perceived, interpreted, and utilized by national experts to derive conclusive insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a case report of a 50-year-old woman with HIV/HCV coinfection who was diagnosed with an HPV-related well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva. After undergoing modified radical vulvectomy and bilateral inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy, the patient developed a rectovaginal fistula and a diverting colostomy was placed. During a postoperative contrast enema study, a curvilinear hyperdense stripe was noted, representing the radiodense marker thread of a retained surgical sponge. This case report highlights the importance of awareness of this retained surgical item and its associated possible complications, as well as the importance of imaging modalities for diagnosis.

Background: The surgical count process is currently the recommended strategy for preventing unintentionally retained surgical items (RSIs) in Australia. Despite this, RSIs still occur and remain an internationally recognised issue and sentinel event associated with morbidity and mortality. There are numerous new and emerging strategies to prevent inadvertent RSIs, apart from the surgical count, and many involve the use of technology. These strategies are not currently specified in Standards for Perioperative Nursing in Australia (the ACORN Standards). Aim: To provide an integrative synthesis of the literature to identify current and emerging strategies for preventing RSIs during surgical procedures. Design: An integrative review process was undertaken. Method: The literature search was conducted in the CINAHL, ClinicalKey and Medline databases and included primary research papers of any design about RSIs and prevention strategies in humans that were published in English between 2008 and 2022. Data was extracted and developed into a table. Quality assessment was undertaken using the Mixed Method Assessment Tool (MMAT). Findings: Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 186 articles were screened and 18 studies were included following quality assessment. Data were grouped into categories according to the prevention strategies of surgical count, radiography, radiofrequency technology, barcode technology and other technologies. Conclusions: RSIs occur despite the mandated use of the surgical count, a human-based process. The use of adjunct, technological prevention strategies is not yet feasible as more research is needed into efficacy and cost-effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retained surgical foreign bodies are unanticipated events culminating from inadvertent operating room errors and may cause severe medical and legal problems between the patient and the doctor. Here, we report detecting a surgical instrument fragment 13 years after an open abdominal hysterectomy in a quadragenarian during her evaluation of a month-old complaint of lower abdominal and right thigh pain. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen demonstrated a radio-opaque linear foreign body traversing the right obturator foramen with extension into the pelvis cranially and the adductor compartment of the right thigh caudally. The metallic foreign body, identified as a fragmented handle of a uterine tenaculum forceps with a slender sharp-tip hook, could be removed laparoscopically from the pelvis after a diagnostic laparoscopy, preventing significant complications. The minimally invasive approach enabled a smooth recovery, and the patient could go home on the second postoperative day.

Abstract Background A retained surgical item (RSI) is defined as a never-event and can have drastic consequences on patient, provider, and hospital. However, despite increased efforts, RSI events remain the number one sentinel event each year. Hard foreign bodies (e.g. surgical sharps) have experienced a relative increase in total RSI events over the past decade. Despite this, there is a lack of literature directed towards this category of RSI event. Here we provide a systematic review that focuses on hard RSIs and their unique challenges, impact, and strategies for prevention and management. Methods Multiple systematic reviews on hard RSI events were performed and reported using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and AMSTAR (Assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews) guidelines. Database searches were limited to the last 10 years and included surgical “sharps,” a term encompassing needles, blades, instruments, wires, and fragments. Separate systematic review was performed for each subset of “sharps”. Reviewers applied reciprocal synthesis and refutational synthesis to summarize the evidence and create a qualitative overview. Results Increased vigilance and improved counting are not enough to eliminate hard RSI events. The accurate reporting of all RSI events and near miss events is a critical step in determining ways to prevent RSI events. The implementation of new technologies, such as barcode or RFID labelling, has been shown to improve patient safety, patient outcomes, and to reduce costs associated with retained soft items, while magnetic retrieval devices, sharp detectors and computer-assisted detection systems appear to be promising tools for increasing the success of metallic RSI recovery. Conclusion The entire healthcare system is negatively impacted by a RSI event. A proactive multimodal approach that focuses on improving team communication and institutional support system, standardizing reports and implementing new technologies is the most effective way to improve the management and prevention of RSI events.

Abstract Introduction A retained surgical sharp (RSS) is a never event and defined as a lost sharp (needle, blade, instrument, guidewire, metal fragment) that is not recovered prior to the patient leaving the operating room. A “near-miss” sharp (NMS) is an intraoperative event where there is a lost surgical sharp that is recovered prior to the patient leaving the operating room. With underreporting of such incidents, it is unrealistic to expect aggressive development of new prevention and detection strategies. Moreover, awareness about the issue of “near-miss” or retained surgical sharps remains limited. The aim of this large-scale national survey-based study was to estimate the incidence of these events and to identify the challenges surrounding the use of surgical sharps in daily practice. Methods We hypothesized that there was a larger number of RSS and NMS events than what was being reported. We survived the different OR team members to determine if there would be discordance in reported incidence between groups and to also evaluate for user bias. An electronic survey was distributed to OR staff between December 2019 and April 2020. Respondents included those practicing within the United States from both private and academic institutions. Participants were initially obtained by designating three points of contact who identified participants at their respective academic institutions and while attending specialty specific medical conferences. Together, these efforts totaled 197 responses. To increase the number of respondents, additional emails were sent to online member registries. Approximately 2650 emails were sent resulting in an additional 250 responses (9.4% response rate). No follow up reminders were sent. In total, there were 447 survey responses, in which 411 were used for further analysis. Thirty-six responses were removed due to incomplete respondent data. Those who did not meet the definition of one of the three categories of respondents were also excluded. The 411 were then categorized by group to include 94 (22.9%) from anesthesiologist, 132 (32.1%) from resident/fellow/attending surgeon and 185 (45%) from surgical nurse and technologist. Survey The survey was anonymous. Participants were asked to answer three demographic questions as well as eight questions related to their personal perception of NMS and RSS (Fig. 1). Demographic questions were asked with care to ensure no identifiable information was obtained and therefore unable to be traced back to a specific respondent or institution. Perception questions 4–6 and 11 were designed to understand the incidence of various sharp events (e.g. lost, retained, miscounted). Questions 7 and 10 were dedicated to understanding time spent managing sharps and questions 8 and 9 were dedicated to understanding the use x-ray and its effectiveness. Results Overall, most of each respondent group reported 1–5 lost sharp events over the last year. Roughly 20% of surgeons believed they never had a miscounted sharp over the last year, where only 5.3% of anesthesiologist reported the same (p = 0.002). Each group agreed that roughly 4 lost events occur every 1000 surgeries, but a significant difference was found between the three groups regarding the number of lost sharps not recovered per 10,000 surgeries with anesthesiologist, surgeon and nurse/technologist groups estimating 2.37, 2.56 and 2.94 respectively (p = 0.001). All groups noted x-ray to offer poor effectiveness at 26–50% with 31-40 min added for each time x-ray was used. More than half (56.8%) of surgeons reported using x-ray 100% of the time when managing a lost sharp whereas anesthesiologists and nurses/technologists believe it is closer to 1/3 of the time. An average of 21-30 min is spent managing each NMS, making a lost sharp event result in up to 70 min of added OR time. Conclusions “Near-miss” and RSS are more prevalent than what is reported in current literature. Surgeons perceive a higher rate of success in retrieving the RSS when compared to anesthesiologists and OR nurses/technologists. We recognize several challenges surrounding “near-miss” and never events as contributing factors to their underreported nature and the higher degree of surgeon recall bias associated with these events. Additionally, we highlight that current methods for prevention are costly in time and resources without improvement in patient safety. As NMS and RSS have significant health system implications, a strong understanding of these implications is important as we strive to improve patient safety.

Objective(s): This study aimed to critically examine the circumstances contributing to, and the human costs arising from, the retention of surgical items through the lens of Australian case law. Design, setting and participants: We reviewed Australian cases from 1981 to 2018 to establish a pattern of antecedents and identify long-term patient impacts (human costs) of retained surgical items. We used a modified fourstep process to conduct a systematic review of legal doctrine, combined with a narrative synthesis approach to bring the information together for understanding. We searched LexisNexis, AustLII, Coroner Court websites, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency Tribunal Decisions and Panel Hearings, Civil and Administrative Tribunal summaries, and other online sources for publicly available civil cases, medical disciplinary cases, coronial cases and criminal cases across all Australian jurisdictions. Results: Ten cases met the inclusion criteria, including one coronial case, three civil appeal cases and six civil first instance cases. Time from item retention to discovery ranged from 12 days to 20 years, with surgical sponges the most frequently retained item. Five case reports indicated possible deviations from standard protocols regarding counting procedures and record-keeping. In the four cases that reported on count status, the count was deemed correct at the end of surgery. Case reports also showed the human costs of retained surgical items, that is, the long-term impacts on patients associated with a retained surgical item. In eight of the nine civil cases, ongoing pain was the most frequently reported physical symptom; in three cases, patients suffered psychosocial symptoms requiring treatment. Conclusion: While there was little uniformity in the items retained or how items came to be retained, we identified significant time delays between item retention and item discovery, coupled with long-lasting physical and psychosocial harms suffered by patients living with a retained surgical item. Current prevention strategies, including national standards-based professional practices, are not always effective in preventing retained surgical items. An internationally standardised taxonomy and reporting criteria, more consistent reporting, and open access to event and risk data could inform a more accurate global estimate of risk and incidence of this hospital-acquired complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aimed to critically examine the circumstances contributing to, and the human costs arising from, the retention of surgical items through the lens of Australian case law. Design, Setting and Participants: We reviewed Australian cases from 1981 to 2018 to establish a pattern of antecedents and identify long-term patient impacts (human costs) of retained surgical items. We used a modified four-step process to conduct a systematic review of legal doctrine, combined with a narrative synthesis approach to bring the information together for understanding. We searched LexisNexis, AustLII, Coroner Court websites, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency Tribunal Decisions and Panel Hearings, Civil and Administrative Tribunal summaries, and other online sources for publicly available civil cases, medical disciplinary cases, coronial cases, and criminal cases across all Australian jurisdictions. Results: Ten cases met the inclusion criteria, including one coronial case, three civil appeal cases, and six civil first instance cases. Time from item retention to discovery ranged from 12 days to 20 years, with surgical sponges the most frequently retained item. Five case reports indicated possible deviations from standard protocols regarding counting procedures and record-keeping. In the four cases that reported on count status, the count was deemed correct at the end of surgery. Case reports also showed the human costs of retained surgical items, that is, the long-term impacts on patients associated with a retained surgical item. In eight of the nine civil cases, ongoing pain was the most frequently reported physical symptom; in three cases, patients suffered psychosocial symptoms requiring treatment. Conclusion: While there was little uniformity in the items retained or how items came to be retained, we identified significant time delays between item retention and item discovery, coupled with long-lasting physical and psychosocial harms suffered by patients living with a retained surgical item. Current prevention strategies, including national standards-based professional practices, are not always effective in preventing retained surgical items. An internationally standardised taxonomy and reporting criteria, more consistent reporting, and open access to event and risk data could inform a more accurate global estimate of risk and incidence of this hospital-acquired complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A retained surgical item (RSI) is defined as a never-event and can have drastic consequences on patient, provider, and hospital. However, despite increased efforts, RSI events remain the number one sentinel event each year. Hard foreign bodies (e.g. surgical sharps) have experienced a relative increase in total RSI events over the past decade. Despite this, there is a lack of literature directed towards this category of RSI event. Here we provide a systematic review that focuses on hard RSIs and their unique challenges, impact, and strategies for prevention and management. Methods: Multiple systematic reviews on hard RSI events were performed and reported using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and AMSTAR (Assessing the methodological quality of systematic reviews) guidelines. Database searches were limited to the last 10 years and included surgical "sharps," a term encompassing needles, blades, instruments, wires, and fragments. Separate systematic review was performed for each subset of "sharps". Reviewers applied reciprocal synthesis and refutational synthesis to summarize the evidence and create a qualitative overview. Results: Increased vigilance and improved counting are not enough to eliminate hard RSI events. The accurate reporting of all RSI events and near miss events is a critical step in determining ways to prevent RSI events. The implementation of new technologies, such as barcode or RFID labelling, has been shown to improve patient safety, patient outcomes, and to reduce costs associated with retained soft items, while magnetic retrieval devices, sharp detectors and computer-assisted detection systems appear to be promising tools for increasing the success of metallic RSI recovery. Conclusion: The entire healthcare system is negatively impacted by a RSI event. A proactive multimodal approach that focuses on improving team communication and institutional support system, standardizing reports and implementing new technologies is the most effective way to improve the management and prevention of RSI events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A retained surgical sharp (RSS) is a never event and defined as a lost sharp (needle, blade, instrument, guidewire, metal fragment) that is not recovered prior to the patient leaving the operating room. A "near-miss" sharp (NMS) is an intraoperative event where there is a lost surgical sharp that is recovered prior to the patient leaving the operating room. With underreporting of such incidents, it is unrealistic to expect aggressive development of new prevention and detection strategies. Moreover, awareness about the issue of "near-miss" or retained surgical sharps remains limited. The aim of this large-scale national survey-based study was to estimate the incidence of these events and to identify the challenges surrounding the use of surgical sharps in daily practice. Methods: We hypothesized that there was a larger number of RSS and NMS events than what was being reported. We survived the different OR team members to determine if there would be discordance in reported incidence between groups and to also evaluate for user bias. An electronic survey was distributed to OR staff between December 2019 and April 2020. Respondents included those practicing within the United States from both private and academic institutions. Participants were initially obtained by designating three points of contact who identified participants at their respective academic institutions and while attending specialty specific medical conferences. Together, these efforts totaled 197 responses. To increase the number of respondents, additional emails were sent to online member registries. Approximately 2650 emails were sent resulting in an additional 250 responses (9.4% response rate). No follow up reminders were sent. In total, there were 447 survey responses, in which 411 were used for further analysis. Thirty-six responses were removed due to incomplete respondent data. Those who did not meet the definition of one of the three categories of respondents were also excluded. The 411 were then categorized by group to include 94 (22.9%) from anesthesiologist, 132 (32.1%) from resident/fellow/attending surgeon and 185 (45%) from surgical nurse and technologist. Survey: The survey was anonymous. Participants were asked to answer three demographic questions as well as eight questions related to their personal perception of NMS and RSS (Fig. 1). Demographic questions were asked with care to ensure no identifiable information was obtained and therefore unable to be traced back to a specific respondent or institution. Perception questions 4–6 and 11 were designed to understand the incidence of various sharp events (e.g. lost, retained, miscounted). Questions 7 and 10 were dedicated to understanding time spent managing sharps and questions 8 and 9 were dedicated to understanding the use x-ray and its effectiveness. Results: Overall, most of each respondent group reported 1–5 lost sharp events over the last year. Roughly 20% of surgeons believed they never had a miscounted sharp over the last year, where only 5.3% of anesthesiologist reported the same (p = 0.002). Each group agreed that roughly 4 lost events occur every 1000 surgeries, but a significant difference was found between the three groups regarding the number of lost sharps not recovered per 10,000 surgeries with anesthesiologist, surgeon and nurse/technologist groups estimating 2.37, 2.56 and 2.94 respectively (p = 0.001). All groups noted x-ray to offer poor effectiveness at 26–50% with 31-40 min added for each time x-ray was used. More than half (56.8%) of surgeons reported using x-ray 100% of the time when managing a lost sharp whereas anesthesiologists and nurses/technologists believe it is closer to 1/3 of the time. An average of 21-30 min is spent managing each NMS, making a lost sharp event result in up to 70 min of added OR time. Conclusions: "Near-miss" and RSS are more prevalent than what is reported in current literature. Surgeons perceive a higher rate of success in retrieving the RSS when compared to anesthesiologists and OR nurses/technologists. We recognize several challenges surrounding "near-miss" and never events as contributing factors to their underreported nature and the higher degree of surgeon recall bias associated with these events. Additionally, we highlight that current methods for prevention are costly in time and resources without improvement in patient safety. As NMS and RSS have significant health system implications, a strong understanding of these implications is important as we strive to improve patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retained items (eg, sponges, sharps) after surgical procedures are reportable errors that can result in patient harm or death and increased patient and health care system costs. Perioperative use of radiofrequency (RF) technology may decrease the number of retained sponges and reduce hospital costs. We sought to determine whether the use of RF technology may be associated with fewer retained sponges, improved patient outcomes, and decreased hospital costs. We completed a retrospective evaluation of incident reports before and after implementing the use of an RF system for retained surgical sponges. We found that using RF technology was associated with fewer retained sponges and improved outcomes at our facility. We also determined that mortality rates before and after RF technology implementation were similar, and we estimated that our hospital's costs were reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Retained foreign bodies may cause severe complications. • Gossypiboma should be removed in all cases. • Conservative treatment for retained foreign bodies may cause complications at any time. • Prevention for retained foreign bodies is mandatory. Even in modern surgery, human mistakes cannot be totally avoided. Retained surgical items are among the most feared ones. Forgotten sponges inside patients can cause a wide range of complications due to the foreign body reaction, called gossypiboma. The incidence of gossypibomas in the literature is probably underreported due to its legal implications; however, we must know its consequences and highlight the importance of the prevention strategies. We present a case where only preventive measures would have avoided its fatal outcome. An 85-year-old male, previous left nephrectomy 12 years before, came to the emergency room with hematochezia and hemodynamic instability. An emergent angio-CT revealed a 12 cm mass due to a gossypiboma near the descending colon; the presence of air suggested an infection and/or fistulization to the bowel. It was decided not to perform invasive procedures, resulting in the patient's death. Gossypibomas can remain asymptomatic for years, being diagnosed when causing an obstruction, malabsorption, septic symptoms or even spontaneously. This may lead to high morbidity and mortality rates. In order to prevent it, different strategies have been described, with the objective to intensify surveillance. When diagnosed, laparotomy, laparoscopic and even endoscopic procedures have been performed successfully. We suggest putting all our efforts in identifying high risk patients and surgeries, training the OR team and enhancing protocols and checklists to minimize any preventable errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retained surgical items (eg, sponges, instruments) remain the most frequently reported sentinel events. The primary strategy for preventing retained sponges is the sponge count. Reconciling sponge counts is time consuming and can extend the duration of operative and other invasive procedures. The primary objective of this observational study was to evaluate the effect of a radiofrequency (RF) surgical‐sponge detection system on time spent searching for surgical sponges. The study included 27,637 procedures during nine months before and after implementing an RF surgical‐sponge detection system. After implementation of the system, time spent searching for sponges was reduced by 79.58%, the percentage of unreconciled counts was reduced by 71.28%, and time spent using radiography to rule out a retained sponge was reduced by 46.31%. This resulted in a reduction of costs. These findings should be used as part of a comprehensive cost analysis of alternative methods when evaluating RF sponge detection technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of intravascular surgical items is increasing in trend in view of its importance in clinical practice, particularly in fluid monitoring and administrating of medications. In view of high demand and usage of these items, procedure-related complications also increasing such as catheter fragmentation, embolization and retained items. It is important to be vigilant in handling and performing any surgical procedure and identifying 'high-risk' patients for proper catheter-related care. Intravascular retained surgical items can be managed either surgically or non-surgically. We reported a case of a sound mind elderly woman who self-cut central venous catheter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the meticulous monitoring of surgical material using the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, gauze sponges and surgical instruments continue to be left inside patients after operations. It is an important issue for surgeons, operating room nurses and the entire medical team. Foreign bodies retained in the system may cause many disorders and result in potentially serious consequences for patients, including death. As well as this, further procedures are needed to remove them and treat any subsequent complications. Retained foreign bodies are rare, but intraluminal migration of the foreign body should be considered extraordinary. Very few cases have been reported so far. The authors believe that it is desirable to perform a wide range of diagnostic imaging in such cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retained surgical item is a known incidental surgical complication that is a mass of a sponge. This cotton matrix is left behind in the body cavity after surgical procedures. It is an incidental, rare medical error., Case Presentation: Here, the authors present a case of a 30-year-old woman who had undergone a cesarean section 2 months ago and presented with the cardinal symptoms of small bowel obstruction. A computerized abdominal tomography (CT) scan showed a well-defined tubular hyperdense structure adherent to the anterior abdominal wall that exerts a mass effect on the adjacent small bowel loops. Following the computerized abdominal tomography results, an exploratory laparotomy resection and anastomosis of a small segment of the ileum were performed. The postoperative period was uneventful, and the patient has remained disease-free to date., Clinical Discussion: Because it is not anticipated, and its clinical manifestations are variable, it is frequently misdiagnosed, and often unnecessary radical surgical procedures are performed., Conclusion: It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any postoperative case with an unresolved or unusual presentation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Gossypibomas remain a dreaded and unwanted complication of surgical practice. Despite significant interest and numerous guidelines, the number of reported cases remains sparse due to various factors, including potential legal implications. Herein, we review related data from India to ascertain if the problem is better or worse than that reported in world literature.~Purpose Of Review~Objective~A literature search was performed on PubMed and Google Scholar, to collect and analyze all case reports and case reviews regarding the condition in India.~Materials and Methods~Methods~On analysis of the results, there were 100 publications reporting a total of 126 events. The average patient age was 38.65 years. Average time to discovery was 1225.62 days. Forty-nine percent of reported cases were discovered within the 1 st year. The most common clinical features were pain (73.8%), palpable mass (47.6%), vomiting (35%), abdominal distention (26%), and fever (12.6%). Spontaneous expulsion of the gossypiboma was noted in five cases (3.96%). Transmural migration was seen in 36 cases (28.57%).~Results~Results~Despite advancements in surgical approaches and preventive measures, gossypibomas continue to be a cause of significant morbidity. A safe working culture, open communication, teamwork, and an accurate sponge count remain our best defence against this often unpredictable complication of surgery.~Conclusions~Conclusions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A surgical item unintentionally retained in a patient after an operative or other invasive procedure is a serious, preventable medical error with the potential to cause the patient great harm. Perioperative RNs play a key role in preventing retained surgical items (RSIs). The updated AORN “Guideline for prevention of retained surgical items” provides guidance for implementing a consistent, multidisciplinary approach to RSI prevention; accounting for surgical items; preventing retention of device fragments; reconciling count discrepancies; and using adjunct technologies to supplement manual count procedures. This article focuses on key points of the guideline to help perioperative personnel provide optimal care during a procedure. Key points addressed include taking responsibility for RSI prevention as a team; minimizing distractions, noise, and interruptions during counts; using consistent counting methods; reconciling discrepancies; and participating in performance-improvement activities. Perioperative RNs should review the complete guideline for additional information and for guidance in writing and updating policies and procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retained surgical sponges are serious adverse events that can result in negative patient outcomes. The primary method of prevention is the sponge count. Searching for sponges to reconcile counts can result in inefficient use of OR time. The purpose of this descriptive study was to estimate the cost of nonproductive OR time (ie, time spent not moving forward with the surgical procedure) spent reconciling surgical sponge counts and the cost of using radiography to rule out the presence of retained sponges. We included 13,322 patient surgeries during a nine-month period. Perioperative personnel required from one to 90 minutes of additional time to reconcile each of 212 incorrect/unresolved counts. The total annualized cost of OR time spent searching for sponges and ruling out the presence of potentially retained sponges using radiography was $219,056. These costs should be included in comprehensive cost analyses when considering alternatives to supplement the surgical count. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many hospitals experience one or more retained surgical item events per year, with risk of patient morbidity and medicolegal consequences. We hypothesized that the confidence and performance of the radiologist would be enhanced by prior training in retained surgical item detection and by prior exposure to commonly employed surgical instruments and devices. Methods: A training module for radiology residents was created through literature review, expert consultation, and imaging of commonly employed surgical instruments and devices. A survey assessing resident command of background knowledge, policy, and image-based retained surgical item questions was created. Additionally resident confidence for hospital policy and retained surgical item identification was assessed. A pre-module survey and confidence questionnaire were administered to first- through fourth- year residents. For one month, the training module was available online for independent review. Subsequently, a post-module survey and confidence questionnaire were completed by participants. $$T$$ tests were performed to evaluate pre- and posttest means for survey performance and confidence questions. Results: Mean post-module survey performance significantly improved compared with pre-module performance. Mean confidence levels for ability to incidentally identify a retained surgical item on a radiograph obtained for another indication and current understanding of the institution's policy regarding retained surgical items were also significantly increased. Conclusion: The knowledge base, diagnostic performance, and confidence of radiology residents were significantly enhanced by online teaching module training in retained surgical item detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Retained surgical items result in substantial morbidity, health care-related expense, and legal liability. This study determines the performance of a protocol for locating surgical items after a miscount, in which intraoperative radiography included a radiograph of the unaccounted for item. Methods Institutional review board approval was obtained. In 20,820 operations performed between January 1, 2011 and April 1, 2013, a total of 183 consecutive surgical miscounts occurred, involving 180 patients (97 male, 83 female; median age: 55 years). Departmental protocol mandated that a radiograph of an example of the potentially retained item be taken simultaneously with each patient intraoperative radiograph. Three board-certified radiologists retrospectively reviewed these radiographs and follow-up imaging, achieving consensus on interpretation. Adherence to institutional protocol was assessed. Demographic data, surgical documentation, and clinical follow-up data were recorded. Results The incidence of surgical miscounts was 0.9% (183 of 20,820). Only 9% (17 of 183) were resolved by discovery: outside the patient (8 cases); on intraoperative radiographs (5 cases); incidentally on follow-up radiographs (2 cases); and on retrospective review (2 cases). The false-negative rate was 44% (4 of 9). Neither of the 2 retained needles discovered postoperatively was removed. The procedures most prone to miscounts were: esophagogastrectomy (33%; 2 of 6); liver transplant (18%; 12 of 66); and Whipple procedure (16%; 7 of 44). Needles (65%) and sponges (9%) were the items that were overlooked most often. Adherence to the protocol of imaging an example of a potentially retained item was 91% (167 of 183). Conclusions Despite good adherence to a protocol of imaging the potentially retained items, small needles often were not visualized on intraoperative radiographs and were not subsequently removed, without known adverse events. This finding suggests that intraoperative radiography for small needles may be unnecessary, but further study is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Retained surgical items (RSIs) have been previously studied in patients undergoing major surgical procedures. This is the first study that specifically examines potential risk factors for intravascular RSI (ivRSI). Methods: Multicenter retrospective review of 83 RSIs was performed. Among these, 13 cases involved ivRSI. Cases in the ivRSI group were compared with a group of similar control cases to determine potential risk factors for ivRSI, including procedural factors (urgency and complicating factors), patient factors (body mass index), equipment failure (structural or functional), and safety variances. Fisher''s exact testing was performed. Results: Thirteen ivRSI cases and 14 controls were examined. There were no differences between the two groups with regard to age, gender, or body mass index. ivRSI items included guide wires (8/13), catheter/catheter fragments (4/13), and a coil (1/13). The incidence of unexpected procedural factors was significantly higher among ivRSI cases (10/13) than among controls (3/14) (P < 0.007). Equipment failure occurred in five ivRSI cases, with none among controls (P < 0.016). There were no differences between the two groups with regard to number of urgent procedures, bleeding >500 mL, evening procedures, or trainee involvement. Both groups had a very high proportion of safety variances (8 in ivRSI and 11 in control group, P = not significant). In addition, seven of 13 ivRSIs were missed on initial confirmatory postprocedural imaging. Discussion: Unexpected procedural factors and equipment failure are significantly associated with ivRSI. Of concern, over half of all ivRSIs were missed on confirmatory postprocedural imaging. Strict adherence to established protocols and stringent radiographic review for intravascular procedures is required to prevent ivRSI. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although the incidence of retained surgical items (RSIs) is low, it is nevertheless an important preventable cause of patient injury that can ultimately lead to the patient's death and to subsequent high medical and legal costs. Unintentional RSI is the cause of 70% of re-interventions, with a morbidity of 80% and mortality of 35%. The most common RSIs are sponges or gauze (gossypiboma or textiloma), while retained surgical instruments and needles are rare. Perioperative counting of equipment and materials is the most common method of screening for RSIs, while a diagnosis can later be confirmed by the clinical appearance and by imaging studies. We present a rare case of a 43-year-old patient who was admitted to our hospital because of two retained needles following a cesarean section, despite several subsequent laparotomies. One needle had been removed previously, but in addition to the remaining needle, we also removed a retained gauze. The diagnosis of RSIs is extremely important, and safe surgical practices including the addition of new imaging technologies should be encouraged to detect RSIs.

Introduction: Surgical retained items (RSIs) are associated with increase in perioperative morbidity and mortality. We used a large national database to investigate the incidence, trends and possible predictors for RSIs after major abdominal and pelvic procedures., Methods: The nationwide inpatient sample data were queried to identify patients who underwent major abdominal and pelvic procedures and discharged with secondary ICD-9-CM diagnosis code of (998.44 and 998.7). McNemar's tests and conditional logistic regression analyses of a 1:1 matched sample were conducted to explore possible predictive factors for RSI., Results: RSI incidence rate was 13 in 100,000 cases-years from 2007 to 2011 after major abdominal and pelvic procedures. RSI incidence remained steady over the five-year study period. Rural hospitals and elective procedures were associated with a higher RSI incidence rate [(OR 1.391, 95% CL 1.056-1.832), p = 0.019] and [(OR 1.775, 95%CL 1.501-2.098), p < 0.001] respectively., Conclusions: Our study was able to add more to the epidemiological perspective and the risk profile of retained surgical items in abdominal and pelvic surgery. Surgical cases associated with these factors may need further testing to rule out RSI.

Gossypiboma or retained surgical sponge is an infrequently encountered surgical complication, more so in the head and neck region. A literature search did not reveal a previously reported case of retained or concealed surgical sponge after microscopic ear surgery. We present a unique and previously unreported case of a 25-year-old male who presented with a cystic swelling in the right supra-aural region 5 months post-modified radical mastoidectomy of the right ear. Surgical excision of the swelling revealed a retained surgical sponge. We emphasise the importance of counting surgical sponges after every surgical step to minimise the incidence of such retained surgical items.