TY - JOUR T1 - EVidence-based safe surgical practices as adjuncts to the universal protocol AU - Adelman J, Chelcun J Y1 - 2011/04/01 N1 - 10.1001/archsurg.2011.62 JO - Archives of Surgery SP - 489 EP - 489 VL - 146 IS - 4 N2 - In their discussion, Stahel et al1 emphasized the importance of “readbacks” and strict adherence to the Universal Protocol, but they missed the opportunity to raise awareness of the roles played by the World Health Organization (WHO) surgical safety checklist and medical team training for invasive procedures. Although the Universal Protocol is based on expert opinion, there is no significant evidence to demonstrate its benefit. The WHO surgical safety checklist and medical team training, on the other hand, have been shown to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality in the operating room, and both are used to prevent the same types of errors as the Universal Protocol.2- 3 Further research is needed to better understand their effectiveness in preventing errors associated with wrong-site procedures and wrong-patient procedures, but the patient safety benefits of these approaches are clear. Because the briefings, debriefings, and teamwork emphasized in these approaches are a valued addition to the steps in the Universal Protocol, the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses has developed a comprehensive surgical checklist that combines the Universal Protocol and the WHO surgical safety checklist to maximize their benefits.4 SN - 0004-0010 M3 - doi: 10.1001/archsurg.2011.62 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.2011.62 ER -