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Sammanfattning

The Thorax-anaesthesiology clinic at Copenhagen University Hospital is using electronic patient-data registration in connection with documentation and quality development of professional nursing standards. Data relating to preoperative thirst among 805 heart surgery patients has shown that 80 percent of the patients abstained from taking fluids for more than eight hours before surgery. Patients are only required to refrain from taking fluids for two hours. On the basis of a desire for patients to experience improved wellbeing and to optimise the surgical procedure, the idea came about of reducing the number of hours patients should thirst before surgery. The project was related to quality development and interdisciplinary information and teaching were important elements of implantation. All adult heart and lung surgery patients were included prospectively. The control group consisted of the corresponding group of patients in the same period in 2004. In the case of heart patients, the results after six months were as follows: 82 per cent of patients had abstained from taking fluids for less than four hours compared to 17 percent in 2004. The survey involved 443 patients and the control group consisted of 467 patients. The project has resulted in clinical guidelines which apply throughout the Heart Centre. This involves procedural changes for 10,000 patients a year.

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