Postoperative Form
The postoperative form documents the patient's recovery from anaesthesia in the recovery room (PACU).
Modified Aldrete Score
The Aldrete score assesses readiness for discharge from the recovery room. Score each criterion from 0 to 2:
| Criterion | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activity | No movement | 2 extremities | All extremities |
| Respiration | Apnoeic | Shallow/limited | Deep breath & cough |
| Circulation | BP ±50% of pre-op | BP ±20–49% of pre-op | BP ±20% of pre-op |
| Consciousness | No response | Arousable | Fully awake |
| SpO₂ | <90% with O₂ | >90% with O₂ | >92% on room air |
Total ≥ 9 indicates readiness for discharge from the recovery room.
The total is calculated automatically and displayed with a colour indicator:
- 🟢 ≥ 9 — Ready
- 🟡 7–8 — Monitor
- 🔴 < 7 — Continue recovery
Recovery vitals
- Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)
- Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)
- Heart rate (bpm)
- SpO₂ (%)
- Temperature (°C)
- Pain NRS — Numeric Rating Scale 0–10 (slider)
- PONV — Postoperative nausea and vomiting (Yes/No)
Pediatric recovery
Pediatric cases retain the Modified Aldrete score. Pain may be documented with FLACC, Faces Pain Scale - Revised, or NRS according to self-report ability. PAED is optional.
Postoperative state at discharge (disposition)
Select where the patient is discharged to:
| Disposition | Colour |
|---|---|
| Ward | Green |
| PACU (extended stay) | Amber |
| ICU | Red |
Add clinical notes for the receiving team in the free text field below.
Handover instructions
For patients going to the ward or PACU, a checklist of standard handover instructions is available. Tick all that apply:
- Pain management plan
- Nausea/vomiting management
- Fluid balance monitoring
- Wound care instructions
- Mobility restrictions
- DVT prophylaxis
- Special monitoring requirements
- Specific drug instructions
- Follow-up plan
These instructions appear in full text on the printed protocol — not abbreviated codes.
Completing the case
Click Go to Summary to submit the postoperative form. This opens the case summary — a continuous review of the whole case (including the intraoperative chart) — but the case is not yet finalised.
30-minute review window
After submitting postop, a 30-minute review period begins. During this time:
- A countdown banner is shown at every step (preop, intraop, postop, and summary)
- You can click Preop, Intraop, or Postop in the banner to navigate back and correct any data
- Changes save automatically — only the fields you changed are sent, and saves made without a connection are kept locally and synced when it returns
- The timer continues running even if you leave the page and return
When the case is finalised it is permanent:
- Status changes to Case finished on the dashboard
- No further editing is possible
- LOSPOR prompts "Print case?" — on the web this opens a dedicated print page; on a phone the record is downloaded as a PDF and handed to your share sheet. Also reachable any time via the Print case button on the case list/summary, or long-press on mobile. See Protocol & Printing.
When finalisation actually happens
Three ways, and the difference matters if you close the tab:
- You click Close Now. Immediate, and the surest option.
- The countdown reaches zero while you have the case open. The banner finalises it in front of you.
- You reopen a case whose window has already elapsed. It finalises the moment the case loads.
If you submit postop and then navigate away before the window ends, the case stays Awaiting review until someone opens it again or closes it explicitly. The countdown itself is anchored to the server, so leaving and returning does not restart it — but nothing finalises the case while nobody is looking at it.
If you want the case definitively closed, click Close Now rather than leaving the timer to run. Use the review window to verify the summary looks correct first — once the case is finished, the two-page record is one click away.
On a hospital appliance this is different: a background job finalises expired cases every five minutes, whether or not anyone has the case open. The behaviour described above is for the hosted service. See Self-hosting if you run LOSPOR yourself.