Using Telemedicine and Infographics for Physician-Guided Home Drain Removal

Objective Measures to decrease hospital length of stay and outpatient visits are crucial during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Physician-guided home drain removal presents a potential opportunity for mitigating viral spread and transmission. Methods A prospective case series on pa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:OTO open : the official open access journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2020-04, Vol.4 (2), p.2473974X20933566-n/a
Main Authors: Go, Beatrice C., Brewster, Ryan, Patel, Risha, Rajasekaran, Karthik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease transmission
drain removal
home health
infographics
Pandemics
Patient Safety/Quality Improvement
Patient satisfaction
PS/QI
Telemedicine
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Summary:Objective Measures to decrease hospital length of stay and outpatient visits are crucial during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Physician-guided home drain removal presents a potential opportunity for mitigating viral spread and transmission. Methods A prospective case series on patients undergoing major head and neck surgery with Jackson-Pratt drain placement was conducted. Patients were shown an infographic detailing drain care and removal at preoperative assessment and prior to discharge. At a 1-week follow-up telemedicine visit, patients were instructed to remove the drain under physician guidance. Patients were assessed 7 days after to determine complication rate and satisfaction. Results Twenty-five patients were enrolled with 100% patients undergoing successful drain removal at home with caregiver support. There were no complications reported at the 7-day postdrain removal time point, and overall patient satisfaction was high. Discussion Infographics and telemedicine are 2 synergistic strategies to guide safe and effective home drain removal. Implications for Practice This study demonstrates how telemedicine and an infographic can be effectively used in physician-guided home drain removal. During a time like the COVID-19 pandemic, innovative measures are necessary to curb transmission and infection rates. We propose a unique and replicable yet safe solution to limit unnecessary exposure and encourage other surgical providers to adopt a similar strategy.
ISSN:2473-974X
2473-974X
DOI:10.1177/2473974X20933566