Kinley, H., Czoski-Murray, C., George, S. et al. (12 more authors) (2002) Effectiveness of appropriately trained nurses in preoperative assessment: randomised controlled equivalence/non-inferiority trial. BMJ, 325 (7376). pp. 1323-1326. ISSN 0959-535X
Abstract
Objective
To determine whether preoperative assessments carried out by appropriately trained nurses are inferior in quality to those carried out by preregistration house officers.
Design
Randomised controlled equivalence/non-inferiority trial. Setting Four NHS hospitals in three trusts. Three of the four were teaching hospitals.
Participants
All patients attending for assessment before general anaesthesia for general, vascular, urological, or breast surgery between April 1998 and March 1999.
Intervention
Assessment by one of three appropriately trained nurses or by one of several preregistration house officers.
Main outcome measures
History taken, physical examination, and investigations ordered. Measures evaluated by a specialist registrar in anaesthetics and placed in four categories: correct, overassessment, underassessment not affecting management, and underassessment possibly affecting management (primary outcome).
Results
1907 patients were randomised, and 1874 completed the study; 926 were assessed by house officers and 948 by nurses. Overall 121/948 (13%) assessments carried out by nurses were judged to have possibly affected management compared with 138/926 (15%) of those performed by house officers. Nurses were judged to be non-inferior to house officers in assessment, although there was variation among them in terms of the quality of history taking. The house officers ordered considerably more unnecessary tests than the nurses (218/926 (24%) v 129/948 (14%).
Conclusions
There is no reason to inhibit the development of nurse led preoperative assessment provided that the nurses involved receive adequate training. However, house officers will continue to require experience in preoperative assessment.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | PREADMISSION |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Health Economics (Leeds) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > The Medical School (Sheffield) > Clinical Sciences Division South (Sheffield) > Department of Surgical and Anaesthetic Science (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Mrs JM Wright |
Date Deposited: | 13 Dec 2007 14:44 |
Last Modified: | 25 Oct 2016 17:42 |
Published Version: | http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/325/7376/1323 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMJ Publishing |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1136/bmj.325.7376.1323 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:3536 |