ABSTRACT
The purpose is to provide a descriptive overview of relevant material exploring improvement of handovers from the operating room (OR) to intensive care unit (ICU). An online search (MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Joanna Briggs), including gray literature and relevant reference lists, was completed. In all, 4574 unique citations were screened and 155 full-text reviews performed; 65 articles were included in the final analysis. The majority of articles discuss an ideal structure for handover (n = 63; 97%); 43 (66%) articles mentioned strategies for implementing such an approach. Only 21 (32%) explicitly described formal quality improvement (QI) methods. Few explored project sustainability and impact of a structured handover on patient safety outcomes (n = 15, 23%). Published literature suggests that there is a significant gap in evidence of measured patient outcomes from standardization of OR to ICU handover processes. Identifying formal QI strategies used to sustain standardized handover processes will allow accurate measurement of patient outcomes.
