A Stress-Reducing Support System for Staff in Cardiac Surgery

Background: Noise in operating theaters 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 and information overload, which could be minimized by the Silent Operating Theater Optimisation System (SOTOS), a noise reductive headset solution and information management system.

Method: 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 at the University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany, were examined. Eleven surgeries were conducted with and ten 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.

Results: Eighty-one OT workers were investigated. The linear multilevel models revealed significant interactions between treatment and time of measurement on stress level (p = 0.029) and exhaustion (p = 0.00017).

Conclusion: A SOTOS effect was confirmed: the development of stress over the course of an operation was beneficially modified by the SOTOS. This surgery types are perceived as stressful, and the staff benefits equally strongly from the intervention in this technical supported settings.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
28. Januar 2023