Reducing Unnecessary Instruments in Tonsil Hemorrhage Trays at a Canadian Tertiary Care Center: A Quality Improvement Project.

Background: In the emergency department (ED), there are pre-assembled tonsillar hemorrhage trays for management of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage and peritonsillar abscess. After use, the tray is sent to the medical device reprocessing (MDR) department for decontamination, sterilization, and re-organization, all at a significant cost to the hospital and environment.

Objective: The goal of this project was to reduce unnecessary instruments on the tonsil hemorrhage tray by 30% by 1 year and report on the associated cost and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions savings.

Methods: This quality improvement project was framed according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Model for Improvement. ED and Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery staff and residents were surveyed to determine which instruments on the tonsil hemorrhage trays were used regularly. Based on results, a new tray was developed and compared to the old tray using MDR data and existing CO₂ emissions calculations.

Results: Tray optimization resulted in a total cost reduction from $1092.63 to $330.21 per tray per year, decreased processing time from 12 to 6-8 minutes per tray, and decreased CO₂ emissions from 6.11 to 2.85 kg per year for the old versus new tray, respectively. Overall, the new tray contains half the number of instruments, takes half the time to assemble, produces 50% less CO₂ emissions, and will save the hospital approximately $100,000 over 10 years.

Conclusion: Healthcare costs and environmental sustainability are collective responsibilities. Surgical and procedure tray optimization is a simple, effective, and scalable form of eco-action.