Effect of nursing checklist in posterior surgery for patients with thoracolumbar fracture with general anesthesia under prone position / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the value of nursing checklist in posterior surgery for thoracolumbar fracture with general anesthesia under prone position.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 106 patients with thoracolumbar fracture admitted to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital，Zhejiang University School of Medicine from June 2018 to May 2020. There were 80 males and 26 females，with age range of 25-57 years［（48.6 ± 11.9）years］. Segments of injury were located at T 11 in 18 patients，at T 12 in 26，at L 1 in 21，at L 2 in 25 and at L 3 in 16. All patients were treated with thoracolumbar posterior screw fixation under general anesthesia. Of all，51 patients received conventional postural nursing from June 2018 to May 2019（control group），and 55 patients received prone position nursing scheme for general anesthesia on the basis of conventional postural nursing from June 2019 to May 2020（verification group）. The incidence of postoperative complications including stress injury，brachial plexus injury，ulnar nerve injury and ocular discomfort as well as length of hospital stay and patients’ satisfaction were compared between the two groups. Visual analogue scale（VAS）and Oswestry disability index（ODI）were also used to measures outcome at postoperative 3 months. Results:All patients were followed up for 8-12 months［（10.5±0.9）months］. Verification group and control group showed significant differences in the incidence of stress injury（4%∶29%），brachial plexus injury（4%∶16%）and ocular discomfort consisiting of tears（2%∶12%），foreign body sensation（0%∶4%）and dryness（4%∶16%）（ P < 0.05），not in ulnar nerve injury and blurred vision. Length of hospitalization in verification group was（7.0±1.3）days，significantly shorter than that in control group［（9.9±1.9）days］（ P < 0.05）. Satisfaction of patients in verification group and control group was 85%（47/55）and 69%（35/51），respectively（ P < 0.05）. At 3 months postoperatively，VAS in verification group［（1.9 ± 0.8）points］was significantly lower than that in control group［（3.5±1.1）points］（ P < 0.05），and ODI was similar between the two groups（ P > 0.05）. Conclusions For patients with thoracolumbar fracture treated by posterior surgery with general anaesthesia under prone position，nursing checklist helps reduce occurrence of the related complication，shorten length of hospital stay，improve patient satisfaction，reduce postoperative pain and promote rehabilitation.