• H Melnik, M J Tessler, and R M Wahba.
• Department of Anaesthesia, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• J Clin Anesth. 1998 Aug 1;10(5):377-9.

Study ObjectiveTo determine whether an association exists between individual anesthesiologists and nonpatient care time in the operating room (OR).DesignRetrospective chart review.SettingCardiac surgery operating theatre in a University Hospital.Patients312 elective coronary artery bypass procedures over 2 years.Measurements And Main ResultsThe time interval between cases, as defined by the time between the first patient out and the second patient in, was compared. Six anesthesiologists, labelled 1 to 6, were involved in the 156 data points analyzed. The mean (+/- SD) time interval between cases, in minutes, for anesthesiologists 1 to 6 were, respectively: 24 +/- 9, 25 +/- 8, 27 +/- 8, 29 +/- 5, 30 +/- 4, 31 +/- 7. The difference among the anesthesiologists' mean time interval between cases was significant (p < 0.01). The mean time interval between cases was significantly different between anesthesiologists 1 and 6 (p < 0.01) and between anesthesiologists 2 and 6 (p < 0.05).ConclusionThe impact of a shorter time interval between cases on OR efficiency remains unknown. Further education and investigation of this issue are warranted.

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