Operating Room Door Openings Research Articles

Does a sign restricting operating room access reduce staff traffic in the surgical department?

IntroductionInfections following orthopedic surgery are rare but difficult to treat. Among the prevention measures reviewed during the Musculoskeletal Infection Society's (MSIS) 2023 international consensus meeting, the only strategy to obtain 100% agreement was the control of traffic in and out of the operating room (OR). Although this recommendation makes good sense, to our knowledge, it has not been previously investigated in a comparative study. We, therefore, conducted a prospective, observational, before-and-after study of the implementation of an informational sign designed to limit traffic in and out of the OR to (1) determine its impact on door openings and the number of people present during orthopedic surgery and (2) assess the risk of surgical site infection after the institution of this sign. HypothesisThis type of sign reduces the number of door openings. Materials and methodsThis prospective, observational study included all patients operated on in one of our ORs over a 6-week period. The number of entrances and exits from the OR and how long the doors were kept open were recorded during the entire study period. After 3 weeks, an informational sign was posted on the OR doors warning people that unnecessary traffic in and out of the OR increases the risk of infection. During this period, we also recorded the type of procedure, operative time, the number of people in the OR at the time of the incision, and the number of entrances and exits. Patients underwent a follow-up at 2 years to check for postoperative infection. The primary endpoint was the number of OR door openings, and the secondary endpoint was the number of infections at 2 years postoperatively. ResultsThe 2 groups (before and after the implementation of the sign) were homogeneous. The average total number of door openings for all ORs was 28.9±19.6 [2–90]. In the no sign group, it was 33.3±20.9 [3–90], and in the sign group, it was 21.0±14.7 [2–50] (p=0.011). The maximum number of people in the OR at one time was 8.32±1.84 [4–12] in the no sign group and 8.44±1.98 [5–12] in the sign group (p=0.8). There were 3 postoperative infections at the 2-year follow-up, all occurring in the no sign group. The infection rate was 6.4% (3/47) in the no sign group versus 0% (0/25) in the sign group (p=0.197). DiscussionOur prospective study demonstrated a simple strategy to reduce the number of entrances and exits, the number of people in the OR, and potentially the risk of surgery-related infection. Another larger-scale study is needed to assess the exact impact of this type of sign, particularly on the risk of infection. Level of evidenceIII; prospective non-randomized comparative study.

Automated traffic monitoring of neurosurgical operating room

Operating room (OR) traffic disrupts airflow and increases particle count, which predisposes patients to surgical site infections, particularly in longer surgeries with hardware placement. The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of traffic during neurosurgical procedures, as well as reasons for and perceptions of OR traffic. This is a single-center, multimethod study monitoring neurosurgical OR traffic through direct observation, automated monitoring, and interviews. Traffic was observed between the skin incision and closure. Personal interviews with OR teams including surgeons, anesthesia, and nurses were conducted to evaluate their perceptions of the frequency of OR traffic and reasons for OR traffic. Direct observation reported OR door opening an average of 18 times, with 20 people entering or exiting per hour. The exact reason for traffic was not verified in all traffic cases and was able to be confirmed in only a third of the cases. Automated monitoring resulted in an average of 31 people entering or exiting the OR per hour. The procedure length was significantly associated with the number of people entering or exiting the OR per hour (P<.0001). Interviews highlighted that OR teams reported traffic to be significantly lower than observed and automated monitoring results, with approximately <6 people entering or exiting per hour. OR traffic is higher than staff expected, and updated processes are required to reduce the number of times the OR door opens. Implementing automated observation of OR traffic could reduce the OR traffic and the risk for surgical site infection.

885. Feasibility of Observing Traffic Patterns (FOOT Patter) in Veterans Health Administration Operating Rooms

BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSIs) complicate nearly 6% of surgeries performed in Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals and occur despite adoption of practices known to reduce them. SSIs are associated with prolonged hospitalization and an increased risk of readmission, reoperation and mortality. Operating room (OR) door openings may increase SSI through disruption of desired OR air flow patterns and increased wound microbe counts. Our study objectives were to: 1) develop a methodological approach for collecting data on entry/exit traffic patterns in VA ORs and 2) characterize patterns across different surgery types.MethodsTrained researchers from 10 VA-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Practice-based Research Network sites observed staff entering and exiting VA ORs. Staff were categorized and identified by role. Exits/entries were recorded on a standardized tracking sheet. Surgery type and observation duration from incision to closure were noted. Mean hourly door openings across procedure and role types were compared via a one-way ANOVA using Stata ver. 15.0.ResultsWe observed 56 surgeries on 55 patients (Fig. 1). During 9,801 observation minutes, 766 staff opened doors 3,882 times. Door openings by role differed significantly (p < 0.001) with nurses, perfusionists, anesthesia and vendors having the highest mean door-opening rate. Coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs) accounted for most door openings and significantly greater surgical duration than other procedures (p=0.012). Time-adjusted OR door opening rate was similar across procedure types at ~22-26 hourly openings (p=0.186).Figure 1. FOOT Patter results ConclusionThe hourly rate of door openings varied notably by staff role. Our data show that measurement of OR movements is feasible although gaining access and approval to observe, achieving ideal observer positioning in complex floor plans, and potential misidentification of entering/exiting staff are challenges of direct methods. Scaling this study up may require automated processes. Studies exploring influences of traffic patterns on OR air quality metrics and impact on risk of SSI, identifying rationale and necessity for door openings and effective strategies for reducing unneeded door openings are needed.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Factors associated with surgeon's perception of distraction in the operating room.

Distractions in the operating room (OR) can create stress among surgeons and lead to higher chances of errors and adverse events. The objective is to determine intraoperative factors that are associated with surgeons' perception of distraction. We conducted a prospective cohort study in 265 consecutive patients undergoing elective laparoscopic general surgery during the 2years after the implementation of a data capture system called the OR Black Box to identify intraoperative sources of distraction. At the end of each operation, human-factor surveys were administered to assess whether surgeons felt distracted. Using a multivariable logistic model, we determined which intraoperative sources of distraction were associated with the surgeons feeling distracted in the OR. The attending surgeon reported feeling distracted in 120 of 265 operations (45%). Auditory sources of distraction, such as the OR door opening occurred at a median of 41 times per case (interquartile range (IQR), 32-54). Cognitive distractions such as teaching (142 cases (54%)), device malfunction (91 (34%)), irrelevant conversations (72 (27%)), management of the next case (41 (15%)), and time pressure (22 (8%)) occurred in a significant number of operations. In a multivariable analysis, presence of irrelevant conversations (odds ratio 2.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-3.94, p = 0.015) and patient history of previous abdominal surgery (odds ratio 2.2, 95% CI 1.18-4.1, p = 0.013) were independently associated with increased likelihood of the surgeons feeling distracted. Irrelevant conversation in the OR is a modifiable factor that was independently associated with surgeon's perception of distraction.

Frequent Door Openings During Cardiac Surgery Are Associated With Increased Risk for Surgical Site Infection: A Prospective Observational Study

Preliminary studies that analyzed surrogate markers have suggested that operating room (OR) door openings may be a risk factor for surgical site infection (SSI). We therefore aimed to estimate the effect of OR door openings on SSI risk in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. This prospective, observational study involved consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery in 2 prespecified ORs equipped with automatic door-counting devices from June 2016 to October 2017. Occurrence of an SSI within 30 days after cardiac surgery was our primary outcome measure. Respective outcome data were obtained from a national SSI surveillance cohort. We analyzed the relationship between mean OR door opening frequencies and SSI risk by use of uni- and multivariable Cox regression models. A total of 301 594 OR door openings were recorded during the study period, with 87 676 eligible door openings being logged between incision and skin closure. There were 688 patients included in the study, of whom 24 (3.5%) developed an SSI within 30 days after surgery. In uni- and multivariable analysis, an increased mean door opening frequency during cardiac surgery was associated with higher risk for consecutive SSI (adjusted hazard ratio per 5-unit increment, 1.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-2.00; P = .008). The observed effect was driven by internal OR door openings toward the clean instrument preparation room. Frequent door openings during cardiac surgery were independently associated with an increased risk for SSI. This finding warrants further study to establish a potentially causal relationship between OR door openings and the occurrence of SSI.