Factors Affecting Acoustics and Speech Intelligibility in the Operating Room: Size Matters

Abstract

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text.

Noise levels in veterinary operating rooms and factors that contribute to their variations

“…The mean noise levels measured in this study were 71.7 dB(A), exceeding the WHO recommendations for noise levels in a hospital workplace [55 dB(A)] . The logarithmic nature of decibels means that 3‐dB and 10‐dB elevations correspond to a 2‐fold and a 10‐fold increase in perceived noise, respectively . Therefore, even small changes in decibel levels can lead not only to statistically significant differences but also to noise levels that are perceivably different to the human ear.…”

“…13 The logarithmic nature of decibels means that 3-dB and 10-dB elevations correspond to a 2-fold and a 10-fold increase in perceived noise, respectively. 1,3,20,21 Therefore, even small changes in decibel levels can lead not only to statistically significant differences but also to noise levels that are perceivably different to the human ear. Although some of the differences found in our study appear relatively small, they are relevant in the context regarding how this noise is perceived by OR personnel.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] These noises and sounds come from a variety of sources, including anesthetic monitoring equipment, OR equipment, communications among hospital staff and personnel, prolonged reverberation times within OR (the prolongation of noise due to sound waves reflecting off of hard surfaces), and music playing in the OR. 3,5,9,10,19,20 The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that noise levels within a workplace (which includes OR) do not exceed 55 decibels. 3,13,15 We hypothesized that the noise The content of this article was presented at the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Surgery Summit, October 10-14, 2017, Indianapolis, Indiana.…”

Social distancing: implications for the operating room in the face of COVID-19

“…This OR communication has been studied qualitatively and quantitatively and was shown to improve overall team function. [12][13][14][15] Optimizing OR communication is especially complex as these teams often change, not only from day to day but also from case to case, thus limiting their adaptive capacity. The literature indicates that several factors are integral to success, including: 1) shared knowledge and understanding, 2) shared goals, and 3) mutual respect.…”

AORN Position Statement on Managing Distractions and Noise During Perioperative Patient Care

“…o heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems o metal equipment (eg, instruments, basins, rigid containers) 23,40 o powered surgical instruments 40,51,52 o moveable equipment o equipment operations and troubleshooting 14,19 o acoustic surfaces on floors, walls, and ceilings 41,53 o pneumatic tube systems 22,47 • technology: o telephones (eg, smart phones, cell phones, 54,55 land lines) 43,48,56 o wireless devices (eg, tablet computers, personal digital assistants, personal gaming devices) 20 o wireless communication systems 20,57 o paging systems (eg, personal pagers, 48,56 intercoms, overhead paging systems) 20,43 o computers o music devices (eg, radios, subscription music services) 48,51,52 • electronic activities:…”