Operating room equipment failures account for nearly 25 percent of surgical errors, according to a study in BMJ Quality & Safety.
A literature review of 28 studies found that failures of equipment or technology were responsible for a median 23.5 percent of total errors. Of eight studies, configuration and settings accounted for most equipment failures at 43.4 percent, followed by equipment availability at 37.3 percent and direct malfunction at 33.5 percent. Procedures with a heavier burden of technology or equipment tended to have higher rates of equipment-related errors, according to the study.
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Checklists or similar interventions reduced equipment errors by an average of 48.6 percent, with specific equipment checklists reducing errors by 60.7 percent. The authors suggest incorporating an equipment check in the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist.
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