Frontiers in Public Health (Aug 2024)

Ergonomics in the operating room and surgical training: a survey on the Italian scenario

  • Stefano Restaino,
  • Marco D’Indinosante,
  • Federica Perelli,
  • Martina Arcieri,
  • Vittorio Cherchi,
  • Marco Petrillo,
  • Anna Franca Cavaliere,
  • Stefano Cianci,
  • Giulia Pellecchia,
  • Roberto Luca Meniconi,
  • Alessandro Coppola,
  • Vito Chiantera,
  • Giovanni Scambia,
  • Lorenza Driul,
  • Giuseppe Vizzielli,
  • SPIGC Working Group,
  • Federico Berton,
  • Luigi Conti,
  • Giampaolo Formisano,
  • Eleonora Guaitoli,
  • Angelo Iossa,
  • Michele Maruccia,
  • Andrea Mazzari,
  • Luigi Oragano,
  • Alessandro Pasculli,
  • Francesca Ratti,
  • Matteo Serenari,
  • Alberto Settembrini,
  • Pasqualino Sirignano,
  • Domenico Soriero,
  • Carlo Vallicelli,
  • Stefano Cianci (Sicilia),
  • Giulia De Iaco (Puglia),
  • Francesca Falcone (Campania),
  • Sara Giaccari (Triveneto),
  • Marco Giovenzana (Lombardia),
  • Edoardo Pasqui (Toscana),
  • Marco Petrillo (Sardegna),
  • Luca Portigliotti (Piemonte),
  • Giuseppe Sena (Calabria),
  • Marco Sparavigna (Liguria),
  • Giordana Bettini,
  • Gianfranco Fanello,
  • Paolo Mendogni,
  • Lorenzo Monteleone,
  • Davide Pertile Nicoletta Pia Ardò,
  • Pasquina Tomaiuolo,
  • Sara Negrello,
  • Mattia Di Bartolomeo,
  • Romeo Patini,
  • Alberto Vito Marcuzzo,
  • Alberto Campione,
  • Giovanni Comacchio,
  • Giacomo Murana,
  • Martino Antonio,
  • Mattia Manitto,
  • Giuseppe Galzerano,
  • Carlo Di Marco,
  • Francesco Velluti,
  • Gianmauro Berardi,
  • Andrea Romboli,
  • Jacopo Weindelmejer,
  • Domenico Tamburrino,
  • Alessandro Calarco,
  • Luigi Losco,
  • Eleonora Nacchiero,
  • Rossella Elia,
  • Federico Lo Torto,
  • Giovanni Vicenti,
  • Vincenzo Pappalardo,
  • Dafne Pisani,
  • Graziano Palmisano,
  • Debora Brascia,
  • Luigi Troisi,
  • Federica Renzi,
  • Fabio Melandro,
  • Silvia Pecere,
  • Carlo Gazia,
  • Gregorio Di Franco,
  • Gaetano Romano,
  • Alberto Bolletta,
  • Emanuele Botteri,
  • Giovanna Di Meo,
  • Carlo Ronsini,
  • Sonia Chiappetta,
  • Ilaria Sgaramella,
  • Francesco Pennestri,
  • Antonella Girardi,
  • Donatella Mariniello,
  • Marco Marcasciano,
  • Michele Telegrafo,
  • Simona Fragomeni,
  • Francesca De Paoli,
  • Giorgio Bogani,
  • Salvatore Gueli Alletti,
  • Luigi Pedone Anchora,
  • Luigi Della Corte,
  • Elisa Piovano,
  • Martina Borghese,
  • Cristina Taliento,
  • Diego Raimondo,
  • Antonio Raffone,
  • Jvan Casarin,
  • Emanuele Perrone,
  • Guglielmo Stabile,
  • Vito Capozzi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1417250
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12

Abstract

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IntroductionSurgical-related injuries are frequent, in fact the reported percentage of musculoskeletal disorders in surgeons is between 47% and 87%. These conditions are caused by long periods of standing, incorrect postures, repeated movements, little rest between operations, the lack of integrated operator rooms, the correct number and arrangement of monitors and the use of non-ergonomic instruments. This survey aims to assess the Italian overview both highlighting how prevalent surgical-related injury is in our surgeons and whether there is an operating room ergonomics education program in Italian surgical specialty schools.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was designed through SurveyMonkey© web application. This survey was composed of 3 different sections concerning the general characteristics of the participants, their surgical background and any training performed, and any injuries or ailments related to the surgical activity. The survey was carried out in the period 1th of December 2022 and the 6th of February 2023.ResultsAt the close of our survey, 300 responses were collected. Among the participants, the two most represented specialties were Gynecology and Obstetrics (42.3%) and General Surgery (39.7%) and surgeons were mainly employed in the Northern regions of Italy (54.8%). Analyzing the participants’ background, 61.7% of the respondents had laparoscopic training during their training and only 53.1% had a pelvic trainer during their residency. In accordance with 98.7% of the respondents, during surgery we have the feeling of being in an uncomfortable position that causes discomfort or muscle pain, and regarding the frequency of these discomforts, the majority of our study population experiences these problems monthly (46.2%), while in 29.6% it is experienced weekly, 12.1% annually and finally 12.1% daily. The surgical approach that is most correlated with these disorders is laparoscopy (62.7%) while the one that causes the least discomfort is robotic surgery (1.4%). These discomforts cause 43.9% of our population to take a break or do short exercises to reduce pain during surgery, and the body areas most affected are the back (61.6%), neck (40.6%) and shoulders (37.8%).ConclusionDespite this, our survey allows us to highlight some now-known gaps present in the surgical training program of our schools and the lack of protection toward our surgeons during their long career.

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