Background

•  Significant number of surgeons experience work-related injuries •  Height and hand size are associated with different types of

injuries •  Increased attention to educating surgeons on operating room

ergonomic principles is warranted

•  59 out of 98 (60%) of attending surgeons responded •  40% reported having a current or previous work-related

injury •  Most common injuries included:

!  Neck (31%) !  Thumb (17%) !  Shoulder (14%)

•  Surgeons attributed their injuries to: ! Standing for an extended time ! Not taking breaks ! Large case volumes ! Table height

•  82% of surgeons reported having little to no knowledge of ergonomics

•  93% reports that applying ergonomic principles in the OR would improve their well-being

Research Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Assessing Surgeon Work-Related Injury and Surgical Ergonomics Awareness in the Operating Room

Emily Cerier, MD1, Sara Mills, MD1, Andrew Hu, MD1, Swati Kulkarni, MD1

1Department of Surgery, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL

1.  Better understand the current status of ergonomics knowledge and work-related injuries among surgeons

2.  Identify risk factors for surgery related injuries 3.  Increase surgeon awareness regarding ergonomic principles in

the operating room

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

5.5 6.0 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

100%

< 5'4" 5'5" - 5'8" >5'9"

0% 5%

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

<5’4” 5’5” – 5’8” >5’9”

shoulder pain neck pain

•  21 question survey collecting information regarding surgeons’ demographics, burnout, work related pain, and ergonomics knowledge was distributed to attending surgeons via anonymous link in an email

•  Results were analyzed using Qualtrics software to perform Chi-squared and Pairwise Z-tests

Ergonomics pertains to designing and arranging things people use so that the two interact most efficiently and safely1

Over 80% of surgeons experience generalized injuries exacerbated by operating with less than half seeking treatment2,3

Ergonomic principals have not been incorporated into surgical practice with less than 6% of surgeons receiving formal ergonomics training4

Less than 15% of surgeons report being aware of any ergonomic guidelines5

Poor adherence to ergonomic principles in the operating room leads to increased muscle fatigue and injury which can lead to career changes or early retirement4

References 1.  “Ergonomics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ergonomics.

Accessed 13 Feb. 2020 2.  Soueid A, Oudit D, Thiagarajah S, Laitung G. The pain of surgery: pain experienced by surgeons while operating. Int J Surg

2010;8:118e120. 3.  Stucky, Chee-Chee H et al. “Surgeon symptoms, strain, and selections: Systematic review and meta-analysis of surgical

ergonomics.” Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) vol. 27 1-8. 9 Jan. 2018, doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2017.12.013 4.  Epstein, Sherise et al. “Prevalence of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Surgeons and Interventionalists: A

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” JAMA surgery vol. 153,2 (2018): e174947. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.4947 5.  Wauben, L.S.G.L., van Veelen, M.A., Gossot, D. et al. Surg Endosc (2006) 20: 1268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-005-0647-y

Surgeons with smaller(<6)/larger (>8.5) gloves were more likely to report injuries (87.5% vs 42.9%, p = 0.046)

Taller surgeons experienced more neck pain (42% vs 14%) while shorter surgeons were more likely to experience shoulder pain (21% vs 5%)

Table 1. Percent of Surgeons with pain by glove size

Table 3. Height Distribution of Reported Neck and Shoulder pain

Table 2. Percent of Surgeons with pain by height Results