title: An observational study of practice during transfer of patients from anaesthetic room to operating theatre.
abstract: We observed practice during transfer of 80 patients from anaesthetic room to operating theatre, to determine the duration of apnoea and the time without monitoring during the transfer process. Median (IQR [range]) time from disconnection of the breathing system in the anaesthetic room to the first breath in theatre was 54 (44-65 [27-196]) s, and from disconnection of the pulse oximetry probe to the first reading in theatre was 90 (74-103 [44-182]) s. In four patients (5%) arterial oxygen saturation fell to 94%, with the greatest desaturation observed 11%. The transfer process may represent a window of opportunity for the occurrence of harm or the first step in a chain of events leading to harm, and is difficult to justify on patient safety grounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. malcolmbroom@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Broom
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ure
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000761:Anesthesia Department, Hospital; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000379:methods*; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D001049:Apnea / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D009873:Operating Rooms; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen