Impact of patient handover structure on neonatal perioperative safety

Objective To compare the incidence, severity, preventability, and contributing factors of non-routine events— deviations from optimal care based on the clinical situation —associated with team-based, nurse-to-nurse, and mixed handovers in a large cohort of surgical neonates. Study design A prospective observational study and one-time cross-sectional provider survey were conducted at one urban academic children’s hospital. 130 non-cardiac surgical cases in 109 neonates who received pre- and post-operative NICU care. Results The incidence of clinician-reported NREs was high (101/130 cases, 78%) but did not differ significantly across acuity-tailored neonatal handover practices. National Surgical Quality Improvement—Pediatric occurrences of major morbidity were significantly higher ( p