Most individuals who undergo a surgical procedure feel at least a little nervous about how it will turn out. This is true regardless of the procedure and patients who feel this way likely include residents of the Pittsburgh area. Anxiety regarding surgeries is often warranted as there are many things that can lead to surgical errors occurring. Two of those factors are distractions in the operating room and a lack of sleep. Recently, studies were conducted into these factors in surgery.

One study focused on noise in the operating room. In it, a test was created to see how 15 different surgeons responded in simulated surgical situations when the sound level was either what is normally found in an operating room with the addition of music, without music, noise that was filtered through a surgical mask and complete quiet. Perhaps not surprisingly, the surgeons were best able to hear and communicate when it was quietest in the room.

Another study that was conducted by researchers in Pennsylvania focused on the impact a lack of sleep had on surgery. It found that while sleep deprived surgeons did okay when performing one task, when an additional task was added, those who were not well rested struggled more than those who had gotten enough sleep, though they were ultimately able to accomplish it.

These are of course just two of the many distractions that occur in an operating room. Others include ringing cellphones, conversations between those assisting in the procedure and even objects falling on the ground. Ways to address these issues are constantly being sought. In the meantime however, surgical errors that could constitute medical malpractice are occurring.

Source: Scripps Howard News Service, "From ringing phones to sleep deprivation: Distractions increase surgeons' potential for mistakes,"Lee Bowman, May 15, 2013