Benchmarking the post-accreditation patient safety culture at King Abdulaziz University Hospital

Accreditation is an internationally recognized evaluation process used to assess, promote, and guarantee efficient and effective patient care and safety. Saudi Arabia is one of the first countries in the eastern Mediterranean region to implement health care accreditation standards. This study provides valuable information pertaining to the impact of accreditation in the unique multicultural, multilingual competitive environment at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this study was to perform an unbiased assessment of the impact of accreditation on patient safety culture. Cross-sectional retrospective and prospective study post-accreditation at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009. A total of 870 registered nurses from eight different cultural backgrounds working at 22 hospital units were given electronic access to the survey. A 5-point Likert scale was used, ranging from 1 for [Strongly disagree] to 5 for [Strongly agree]. The survey results were matched with the international benchmarks from the hospital survey on patient safety culture, 2005. A total of 605 nurses answered the survey questionnaire. The comparison between the percentages of nurses at King Abdulaziz University Hospital [KAUH] and those at international hospitals who answered [Agree] and [Strongly agree] showed a post-accreditation improved perception of the culture of patient safety. Accreditation has an overall statistically significant improvement in the perception of the culture of patient safety

Randomized clinical trial to evaluate the safety of avoiding pre-operative transfusion in sickle cell anemia

Patients with sickle cell anemia have an increased chance of undergoing surgical procedures with higher morbidity. The practice of pre-operative blood transfusion for such patients is still controversial. The aim of the study was to evaluate and assess the safety of avoiding pre-operative transfusions in patients with sickle cell anemia. Prospective randomized clinical trial. Surgical departments, King Abdulaziz University Hospital and King Fahed Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah. A randomized clinical trial of 369 sickle cell anemic patients with a median age of 16 years old [range: 1-35 years old], underwent surgical procedures between November 1996 and November 2001. Surgical procedures included adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy, total hip arthroplasty, cholecystectomy, splenectomy, and Obstetric and Gynecological surgeries. Patients with stable clinical and hematological state were randomized into two groups: Group I [n=181], received no pre-operative transfusion and Group II [n=188] received simple or partial exchange transfusion pre-operatively. All patients were carefully hydrated and good oxygenation was maintained. None of the patients developed major intra or postoperative complications in both groups. Fourteen percent of the pre-operative transfusion group developed postoperative complications versus 7% in non-transfused group with a significant P value [0.002]. Avoidance of pre-operative transfusion is a safe practice in properly selected steady state sicklers. On the contrary, it is believed that the risks associated with transfusion were avoided