Real-Time Stress Analysis Affecting Nurse during Elective Spinal Surgery Using a Wearable Device

Abstract

Successful spinal surgery demands high levels of concentration and cooperation from participating health care workers. The intraoperative stress levels and concentration levels of surgeons have been studied previously; however, those of nurses are rarely studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the stresses affecting surgical nurses by their participating role during spinal surgery. A total of 160 surgical stress records were obtained during 40 surgeries, including electroencephalography (EEG) signals and heart rate variability (HRV) from three orthopedic spinal surgeons and six nurses; concentration, tension level and physical stress were analyzed. Levels of both concentration and tension were significantly higher in circulating nurses during all surgical stages (p p p < 0.01). These results will contribute to understanding the pattern of intraoperative stress of surgical nurses, and therefore help in enhancing the teamwork of the surgical team for optimal outcomes.

Keywords

• electroencephalography
• heart rate variability
• intraoperative stress
• spine surgery
• scrub nurse
• circulating nurse