A Prospective Observational Cohort Study of Calls for Help in a Tertiary Care Academic Operating Room Suite

Abstract

While significant literature exists on hospital-based "code calls," there is a lack of research on calls for help in the operating room (OR). The purpose of this study was to quantify the rate and nature of calls for help in the OR of a tertiary care hospital. For a 1-year period, all calls were recorded in the main OR at The University of California, Irvine Medical Center. The average rate of calls per 1000 anesthesia hours was 1.4 (95% CI, 1.1-1.8), corresponding to a rate of 5.0 (3.8-6.5) calls per 1000 cases. Airway (44%), cardiac (32%), and hemorrhagic (11%) emergencies were the most common etiologies. Thirty-day mortality approached 11% for patients who required a call for help in the OR.

Systems‐focused simulation to prepare for COVID‐19 intraoperative emergencies

“…Although intraoperative emergencies are uncommon, 1 we faced a need to develop evidence‐informed and contextualized guidance for intraoperative emergencies involving patients with COVID‐19. At our academic pediatric hospital, we assembled a multi‐disciplinary team to examine and adapt intraoperative emergency workflows to ensure safety for patients with suspected COVID‐19 infection and limit exposure for healthcare providers, with a focus on system improvement (rather than individual performance).…”