57 A Closed Loop Audit of Post-Operative Driving Advice Documentation

Aim

The Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency state post-operatively it is between the patient and doctor to establish when would be safe to resume driving, providing recovery does not exceed three months. This audit aimed to assess and improve the documentation rate of driving advice in the discharge summaries given to patients post abdominal surgery.

Method

Retrospective data collection from electronic records over the months of August and September 2020. 132 discharge summaries were screened to assess the baseline rate of verbal/documented driving advice given on discharge. Following the 1st cycle, posters encouraging the inclusion of driving advice and demonstrating how to access driving advice to discharge summaries were developed and distributed across the surgical wards. A 2nd cycle re-audit was conducted in October 2020 to measure the effect of change, and a further 3rd cycle audit was conducted in November 2020.

Results

1st cycle included 132 patients. 62% had documented advice on their discharge summaries, while 38% had no proof of driving advice. After intervention, 2nd cycle included 30 patients. Results showed a significant increase in advice documentation (80%). A 3rd cycle was carried out with 47 patients. This showed a reduction in advice documentation (66%).

Conclusions

Driving advice on discharge in post-operative patients is crucial part of patient safety. Implementation of intervention has increased the documentation of driving advice showing enhancing patient safety. However, 3rd cycle after registrar’s changeover showed a decrease in the rate of documentation. A teaching session is planned for new doctors followed by 4th cycle.

1499 The Statistical Value of Different Clinical Characteristics in Evaluation of Suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome

Introduction

Cauda Equina Syndrome(CES) is a potentially disabling condition caused by compression of the thecal sac in the lumbar spine. Traditional teaching suggests red flags include back pain, sciatica, saddle anaesthesia and bladder disturbance. Current guidelines from the British Association of Spinal Surgeons recommend prompt investigation with MRI should these symptoms be present.

Method

A retrospective electronic case note review was undertaken from a one-year period to identify patients referred to the on call orthopaedic team with suspected CES and were investigated with MRI. Notes were reviewed for the presence of each clinical characteristic and correlated with MRI findings.

Results

334 referrals underwent urgent MRI with 25 scans showing CES. Poor statistical association was observed with unilateral leg pain (sensitivity 0.28, specificity 0.48), back pain (sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.13) and bladder dysfunction (sensitivity 0.72, specificity 0.36). Much closer statistical association was seen with bilateral leg pain (sensitivity 0.6, specificity 0.7, OR 5.03, 95% CI 2.16-11.68, p0.0002), leg weakness (sensitivity 0.68, specificity of 0.72, OR 5.35, 95% CI 2.23-12.85, p0.0002), leg sensory deficit (sensitivity 0.72, specificity 0.60, OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.54-9.36, p0.004) and altered perianal sensation (sensitivity 0.6, specificity 0.67, OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.31-6.99, p 0.009)

Conclusions

The diagnostic accuracy for some conventional red flag characteristics in CES is low. In our series back pain, unilateral sciatica and bladder disturbance showed low predictive value while bilateral sciatica, saddle anesthesia and lower limb sensorimotor deficits showed closer association and therefore should be closely evaluated for when reviewing such patients.