Analyses of the phase I postanesthesia care unit baseline capacity and effect of disruptions to its beds or nurse availability on operating room workflow

Abstract

When there is not a free bed or nurse in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), the patient recovers in the operating room, preventing the start of the subsequent case(s), until capacity is available in the PACU. We report some real examples of situations in which the capacity of the PACU decreases unexpectedly, and analyse their implications on the operating room workflow. For this purpose, first, different surgical suite sizes are simulated, considering the important factors observed in real time. The baseline capacities of PACU beds and nurses are determined. Then, the characteristics of some situations with less capacity than the baseline are investigated, caused by disruptions of either decreasing the number of beds or nursing hours in the PACU. For example, when the number of PACU beds in 8-OR surgical suites decreases to half of the baseline, the percentage of days with delay increases from 0.22% to 86.79%.