• Z N Kain, A Fasulo, and S Rimar.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8051, USA. kain@biomed.med.yale.edu
• J Clin Anesth. 1999 Nov 1;11(7):540-4.

Study ObjectiveTo examine whether the establishment of dedicated pediatric operating rooms (ORs) staffed exclusively by pediatric anesthesiologists has had a significant impact on anesthetic efficiency during surgery.Study DesignBefore and after design.SettingGeneral and pediatric operating rooms at Yale-New Haven Hospital.Measurements And Main ResultsUsing Operating Room Information System data (1991 to 1997), we examined whether the anesthesia-controlled time, the time it takes for induction and emergence of anesthesia of a selected surgical procedure (tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy), was affected by the change of practice from general to pediatric ORs. The average length of anesthesia induction decreased by 30% (p = 0.0007). Similarly, the average length of emergence from anesthesia decreased by 42% (p = 0.01) and anesthesia-controlled time decreased by 31% (p = 0.0008). Of particular importance is the decrease by 75% in the anesthesia-controlled time range (maximum-minimum).ConclusionsThe establishment of dedicated pediatric ORs resulted in significantly shorter anesthesia induction and emergence times. Furthermore, the decreased variability of anesthesia-controlled time may allow for better scheduling of surgical cases and for better surgeon and patient satisfaction.

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