Handover Patterns in the PACU: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Purpose: Currently, there is no standardized handover pattern for patients undergoing general anesthesia when being transferred to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU).

Design: A review of the literature.

Methods: In this study, a review of the literature was conducted to analyze the PACU handover status, factors for poor handover, and commonly used handover patterns.

Findings: Important handover information was often omitted during the handover of PACU patients, and there were many factors influencing postoperative patient handover quality. This study analyzed and compared several commonly used handover patterns for patients. Among these, the Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation tool is relatively mature. However, there is currently no unified standardized patient handover pattern, and the validity and applicability of tools still need to be verified.

Conclusions: PACU is an important place for the recovery of surgical patients. Anesthesia providers need to provide PACU nurses with complete and comprehensive postoperative handover information. A standardized handover model for clinical nurses is needed to improve patient safety management and work efficiency.

Keywords: PACU; handover; pattern; postanesthesia care unit; tool.