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 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..

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2020

Erschienen:

2020

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:4

Enthalten in:

OTO Open - 4(2020), 2

Beteiligte Personen:

Go, Beatrice C. [VerfasserIn]
Brewster, Ryan [VerfasserIn]
Patel, Risha [VerfasserIn]
Rajasekaran, Karthik [VerfasserIn]

Anmerkungen:

© 2020 American Association of Otolaryngology‐Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO‐HNSF)

Umfang:

6

doi:

10.1177/2473974X20933566

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

WLY01196961X