Table 1.

Common Postoperative Handoff Checklist Elements

Patient demographics

Patient identification (Name, Date of Birth, Medical Record Number)

Age

Diagnosis

Surgical procedure

Medical history

American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status

Pertinent previous medical history

Cardiac (coronary artery disease, heart failure, hypertension, arrhythmia)

Pulmonary (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

Neurological (transient ischemic attack/cerebrovascular accident, Parkinson)

Liver disease

Kidney disease

Metabolic disease (diabetes)

Infectious diseases (human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C)

Psychiatric disease

Substance use (alcohol, tobacco, drugs)

Anesthesia risks (malignant hyperthermia, postoperative nausea, and vomiting)

Allergies

Medications

Preoperative vital signs

Operative anesthetic management

Location and size of intravenous access

Invasive monitoring

Drugs

Premedications (sedatives, enhanced recovery pathway medications)

Antibiotics

Induction agents, maintenance of anesthesia

Opioids/pain control

Vasoactive drugs

Bronchodilators

Muscle relaxants and reversal agents

Antiemetics

Procedure-related drain care, restrictions on positioning

Anesthetic course

Difficulties with intravenous access

Airway management, including ease of intubation

Intraoperative hemodynamic instability

Electrocardiographic changes

Relevant intraoperative laboratory values

Fluid balance

Amount and type of intravenous fluid

Blood loss and any blood product transfusions

Estimated fluid losses including urine output

Postoperative management and course

Laboratory tests or imaging required in PACU

Post-PACU disposition (home, inpatient floor, ICU)

ICU indicates intensive care unit; PACU, postanesthesia care unit.

Reproduced with permission and originally published in Agarwala et al.⁵²