Date of this Version

12-1-2023

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

Background: One of the most typical postoperative consequences is postoperative sore throat (POST).1 POST can occur in anywhere from 12.1% to 70% of people. It has been demonstrated that POST hinders post-anesthesia recovery, lowers patient satisfaction, and increases the risk of aspiration pneumonia.1-2 The vocal cords, the epithelium, and mucosal cells can sustain injury from airway secretion, congestive blood loss, and POST.2 The project involved solving the following PICOT question: Are (P) anesthesia providers (I) intraoperatively monitoring laryngeal mask airways (LMA) cuff pressures (C) compared to standard practice (O) to decrease postoperative complications (T) within 24 hours of procedure?

Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted using a pre-test and post-test to assess attitude and knowledge at a Level 1 trauma hospital facility in South Florida. The search databases used included PubMed, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE to obtain journal articles related to the PICO question. The key participants were anesthesia providers who were recruited voluntarily through an email invitation. The anesthesia providers participated in a pre-test survey followed by an educational module and post-test survey. The data from the surveys were analyzed statistically to evaluate the impact of the educational module.

Results: The participants (n=6) demonstrated improved scores in the post-test survey compared to the pretest scores. When asked how likely they are to use a manometer in their daily practice for monitoring, 2 (33.33%) responded “most likely,” 3 (50%) responded “somewhat likely,” and 1 (16.67%) responded “most unlikely.” Furthermore, when asked if lack of monitoring laryngeal mask airway cuff pressure results in postoperative complications, 5 (83.33%) replied “agree” and 1 (16.67%) responded “somewhat agree.”

Discussion: The educational module demonstrated increased knowledge regarding monitoring intraoperative laryngeal mask airway cuff pressure to reduce postoperative complications. After implementing the educational module, 100% (n = 6) answered question 5 correctly, showing a 16.67% increase in knowledge for complications postoperatively.

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