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Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2022; 70(05): 392-400
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1741059
Original Cardiovascular

Effects of a Technical Solution on Stress of Surgical Staff in Operating Theatres

Jan Lehrke 
1   Department of Social and Communication Psychology, Georg-Elias-Mueller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Georg-August-Universität Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
,
Margarete Boos
1   Department of Social and Communication Psychology, Georg-Elias-Mueller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Georg-August-Universität Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
,
Andreas Cordes
1   Department of Social and Communication Psychology, Georg-Elias-Mueller-Institute of Psychology, University of Goettingen, Georg-August-Universität Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
,
Conrad Leitsmann
2   Department of Urology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Universitätsmedizin Goettingen, Goettingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
,
Martin Friedrich
3   Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Universitätsmedizin Goettingen, Goettingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Funding The study did not receive external funding. Therefore, the authors are independent of any funders. All authors had full access to the data in the study and can take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
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Abstract

Background Noise in operating theaters (OT) exceeds safety standards with detrimental effects on the health and performance of OT crews as well as patient safety. One of the reasons for these effects is the stress response to noise, which could be minimized by the Silent Operating Theater Optimisation System (SOTOS), a noise-reductive headset solution.

Methods This study evaluates the effects of the SOTOS on the stress perceived by OT crew members, operationalized through stress level and exhaustion. Twenty-one heart surgeries and 32 robot-assisted prostatectomies at the University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany were examined. Twenty-six surgeries were conducted with and 27 without the SOTOS. The SOTOS-effect is defined as a more beneficial stress course from before to after surgery, when comparing the experimental group with and control group without SOTOS.

Findings Eighty-one OT workers were investigated. The linear multilevel models revealed significant interactions between treatment and time of measurement on stress level (F[1, 406.66] = 3.62, p = 0.029) and exhaustion (F[1, 397.62] = 13.12, p = 0.00017). Nevertheless, there was no a significant main effect of surgery type on stress level (F[1, 82.69] = 1.00, p = 0.32) or on exhaustion (F[1, 80.61] = 0.58, p = 0.45). Additionally, no significant three-way interaction including surgery type, for stress level (F[1, 406.66] = 0.32, p = 0.29) or exhaustion (F[1, 397.62] = 0.03, p = 0.43), was found.

Interpretation An SOTOS-effect was confirmed: the development of stress over the course of an operation was beneficially modified by the SOTOS. Both surgery types are perceived as similarly stressful, and the staff benefits equally strongly from the intervention in both settings.

Keywords

SOTOS - noise reduction - technology - cardiovascular diseases - operating theater - surgery - surgical staff - stress - exhaustion - communication

Data Availability Statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Please contact the corresponding author for data availability.


Authors' Contribution

J.L. contributed to the statistical analyses, the interpretation of the findings, and writing of the manuscript. M.B. contributed to the overall design and conduct of the study, management processes, and writing of the manuscript. A.C. contributed to the statistical analyses and writing of the manuscript. C.L. contributed to the management processes, implementation of the treatment in radical prostatectomies, and writing of the manuscript. M.F. contributed to the overall design of the study, management processes, writing of the manuscript, and supervision of the technical aspects and implementation of the treatment. All authors read and approved the final report and verify the underlying data and contributed to the data collection and implementation of the treatment.




Publication History

Received: 27 September 2021

Accepted: 22 November 2021

Article published online:
02 February 2022

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