Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 May;40(5):115.
doi: 10.1007/s10916-016-0471-z. Epub 2016 Mar 19.

Effect of Anesthesia Staffing Ratio on First-Case Surgical Start Time

Affiliations

Effect of Anesthesia Staffing Ratio on First-Case Surgical Start Time

York Chen et al. J Med Syst. 2016 May.

Abstract

On time start of the first case of the day is an important operating room (OR) efficiency metric, in which delays can have effects throughout the day. Although previous studies have identified various causes of first case start delays, none have attempted to evaluate the effect anesthesia staffing ratios have on first case start times. We performed a single-center retrospective analysis at an academic teaching hospital. Data was collected and analyzed over a period of 4 years and on more than 8,700 cases. We examined whether staffing ratios of attending only (solo staffing ratio), attending working with 1 resident/certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) (1 to 1), or attending covering 2 residents/CRNAs (1 to 2) had a significant effect on first patient in room time (FPIR) and first case on time start (FCOTS). In addition, we examined whether staffing ratios had an effect on start times in various surgical subspecialties. We performed a univariate logistic regression analysis to determine if age, anesthesia base units, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA PS) classification score, and staffing ratio was associated with FPIR and FCOTS being on time. Then, we performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine if staffing ratio was associated with these outcomes, utilizing age, anesthesia base units, and ASA PS class as covariates. A decreased odds for FPIR being on time were seen in general and orthopedic surgeries when staffed 1 to 1, and cardiac surgery when staffed 1 to 2, when compared to solo staffing. FCOTS showed statistically significant differences when looking at all services with solo staffing having the highest odds for FCOTS being on time. This effect was seen also when analyzing only oncologic and orthopedic surgeries. Hospitals should consider using different staffing ratios in different surgical specialties to minimize delays and maximize OR efficiency.

Keywords: Anesthesia; Efficiency; Induction; Operating room; Staffing ratio.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Anesthesiology. 2012 Mar;116(3):683-91 - PubMed
    1. J Med Syst. 2015 May;39(5):48 - PubMed
    1. J Med Syst. 2014 Sep;38(9):105 - PubMed
    1. J Invest Surg. 2015 Apr;28(2):95-102 - PubMed
    1. Anesth Analg. 2006 Oct;103(4):932-7 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

  NODES
admin 3
COMMUNITY 1
INTERN 1
twitter 2