Table 5.
Causes of observed interruptions giving overall frequency and proportion, and frequency per hour, for operating room nurses (ORNs), registered nurse anaesthetists (RNAs), surgeons* and for the surgical team as a whole
| Causes of interruptions | Examples of causes of interruptions | ORNs n (%) |
RNAs n (%) |
Surgeons n (%) |
Total n (%) |
| Equipment | Malfunction, missing or wrong equipment. Change of OR table. |
48 (50.5) | 39 (15.3) | 27 (35.1) | 114 (26.8) |
| Related to procedure | Providing additional information. Contaminating sterile area. Fog on lens. |
23 (24.2) | 37 (14.6) | 35 (45.4) | 95 (22.3) |
| Related to medication | Missing or wrong medication. | 0 | 46 (18.1) | 0 | 46 (10.8) |
| Change of shift | Changing staff for break or lunch during the procedure. | 7 (7.4) | 33 (13.0) | 0 | 40 (9.4) |
| Alarm | Alarm from devices or monitors. Indicating high gas pressure. |
2 (2.1) | 31 (12.2) | 1 (1.3) | 34 (8.0) |
| External factor | External person entering the room to watch the procedure or to discuss test of new equipment. | 4 (4.2) | 22 (8.7) | 4 (5.2) | 30 (7.0) |
| Related to patient | Changing patient position. Changes in patient’s vital signs. |
4 (4.2) | 20 (7.9) | 4 (5.2) | 28 (6.6) |
| Telephone/pager | Searching for surgeons. Planning for next procedure. |
6 (6.3) | 16 (6.3) | 5 (6.5) | 27 (6.3) |
| Other | Wrong action when assisting. | 1 (1.1) | 10 (3.9) | 1 (1.3) | 12 (2.8) |
| Causes to observed interruptions | 95 (22.3) | 254 (59.6) | 77 (18.1) | 426 (100) |
*Total observation time per profession was 66 hours each for ORNs and RNAs, whereas surgeons were observed for 37 hours.