RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Appropriate usage of operating room (OR) time can improve efficiency of utilization of resources and help to decrease surgical waiting lists. AIMS: This study was conducted to evaluate the pattern of usage of OR time in a tertiary referral cancer hospital. SETTING AND DESIGN: This was a prospective audit carried out over 2 months in 11 major ORs in a cancer hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: OR anesthesiologists filled a standard form for all patients undergoing elective surgery and documented the following times: entry into OR, start of anesthesia, handover to surgeon, incision, start of reversal, end of anesthesia, and shifting out of patient. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Median time utilized for various OR processes was calculated. RESULTS: An average of two surgeries were performed per OR session (828 surgeries in 407 OR sessions). Anesthesia and surgery-related processes contributed to 17% and 79%, respectively, of total OR time, with turnover time between cases accounting for the remaining 4%. Fifteen percent (60 out of 407) OR sessions started more than 10 min later than the planned start time, and 17% (70 of 407) of OR sessions ended more than 2 h after the scheduled finish time. An anesthesia procedure room was utilized in only 15% of cases where it could potentially have been used. CONCLUSION: This audit identified patterns of OR usage in a cancer hospital and helped to detect areas of inefficient utilization. Anesthesia-related processes contributed to 17% of the total OR time.
