Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr;9(2):380-384.
doi: 10.21037/gs.2020.04.09.

Noise in the outpatient operating room

Min Liu  1 , Chen Yi  1 , Fei Yin  1 , Yu Dai  1
Affiliations

Noise in the outpatient operating room

Min Liu et al. Gland Surg. 2020 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Noise exposure in hospitals can negatively impact both patients and doctors. It can make patients feel more anxious or depressive and can impair doctors' concentration or judgment, potentially leading to poor decision-making or performance. In China, an increasing number of outpatient operating rooms have emerged in recent years for the convenience of patients planning to undergo minor surgery. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of noise exposure in the outpatient operating room and ways to deal with it.

Methods: By monitoring noise at different locations in three hospitals, we analyzed the average noise exposure intensity affecting outpatient operative procedures. After noise monitoring, we made some constructive suggestions and other adjustments to reduce and lower the noise exposure in one outpatient operating room [the experimental operating room (EOR)] to observe the feasibility and effectiveness of noise control in and out of the outpatient operating room.

Results: Noise intensity in the outpatient operating room was significantly higher than that in the inpatient operating room (68.3±14.7 vs. 45.7±9.6, P<0.05). After noise control, the noise intensity in the EOR decreased significantly (74.5±16.6 vs. 59.2±13.4, P<0.05) but was still higher than that in the inpatient operating room (59.2±13.4 vs. 46.0±9.3, P<0.05) of the same hospital. Further analysis revealed that noise affecting outpatient operating room mainly originates from vehicles outside, medical machines, ambulances, crowds in the outpatient main hall, and communication devices.

Conclusions: Noise exposure is a common and serious problem, but measures can be taken to deal with it effectively.

Keywords: Outpatient; operating room, noise exposure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/gs.2020.04.09). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

    1. Basner M, Babisch W, Davis A, et al. Auditory and non-auditory effects of noise on health. Lancet 2014;383:1325-32. 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61613-X - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wright BA, Peters ER, Ettinger U, et al. Moderators of noise-induced cognitive change in healthy adults. Noise Health 2016;18:117-32. 10.4103/1463-1741.181995 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cheriyan S, Mowery H, Ruckle D, et al. The Impact of Operating Room Noise Upon Communication During Percutaneous Nephrostolithotomy. J Endourol 2016;30:1062-6. 10.1089/end.2016.0498 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Keller S, Tschan F, Beldi G, et al. Noise peaks influence communication in the operating room. An observational study. Ergonomics 2016;59:1541-52. 10.1080/00140139.2016.1159736 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Way TJ, Long A, Weihing J, et al. Effect of noise on auditory processing in the operating room. J Am Coll Surg 2013;216:933-8. 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2012.12.048 - DOI - PubMed