The nature and sources of variability in pediatric surgical case duration

ConclusionsPediatric case time variability, unlike adult cases, is poorly explained by surgeon effect or other characteristics that are commonly abstracted from electronic records. This largely relates to the ‘long‐tailed’ distribution of pediatric cases and unpredictably long cases. Surgeon‐specific scheduling is therefore unnecessary and similar cases may be pooled across surgeons. Future scheduling efforts in pediatrics should focus on prospective identification of patient and procedural specifics that are associated with and predictive of long cases. Until such predictors are identified, daily management of pediatric operating rooms will require compensatory overtime, capacity buffers, schedule flexibility, and cost.

Source: Pediatric Anesthesia - July 17, 2015 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Fernanda Bravo, Retsef Levi, Lynne R. Ferrari, Michael L. McManus Tags: Original Article Source Type: research