PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mark Chamberlain
AU  - Rebecca Dwyer
TI  - Reducing pre-operative length of stay for enterocutaneous fistula repair with a multi-disciplinary approach
AID  - 10.1136/bmjquality.u204075.w1773
DP  - 2015 Jan 01
TA  - BMJ Quality Improvement Reports
PG  - u204075.w1773
VI  - 4
IP  - 1
4099  - http://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/4/1/u204075.w1773.short
4100  - http://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/4/1/u204075.w1773.full
SO  - BMJ Qual Improv Report2015 Jan 01; 4
AB  - Pre-operative assessment of complex surgical patients can be a lengthy process, albeit essential to minimise complication rates. In a tertiary referral unit specialising in the surgical repair of entercutaneous fistulas, a baseline audit revealed an average in-patient length of stay of 30.1 days, mainly caused by poor co-ordination between specialities. After the introduction of a weekly multi-disciplinary team meeting and the formalisation of a patient pathway, this admission length was reduced to 5.7 days (p<0.01), resulting in significant savings to the department.