• C Joos, S Bertheau, T Hauptvogel, T Auhuber, C Taube, M Bauer, and M Schuster.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Pain Therapy, Kliniken Landkreis Karlsruhe, Fürst-Stirum-Klinik Bruchsal and Rechbergklinik Bretten, Gutleutstr. 1-14, 76646, Bruchsal, Germany.
• Anaesthesist. 2021 Jan 1; 70 (1): 23-29.

BackgroundDelays in the start of morning operations cause a loss of expensive OR capacity as well as frustration and potential conflicts among the different professions involved. There are a lot of reasons which can lead to delayed anesthesia ready time (ART). This is the first large multicenter study to identify incidence, extent and reasons of delay in ART.MethodsFirst case delays in ART were studied in all regular ORs in 36 hospitals of different sizes (smaller community hospitals, larger community hospitals and university hospitals) over a period of 2 weeks. We analyzed the results comparing the 3 hospital types regarding incidence, extent and reasons for delay.ResultsA total of 3628 first of day cases were included in the study. Incidences of delayed ART (delay >5 min) ranged from 26.5% in university hospitals to 40.8% in larger community hospitals. However, university hospitals had higher incidences than smaller community hospitals of delays greater than 15 and 30 min. The main reasons for delays were prolonged induction of anesthesia, patient in-hospital logistics and delayed patient arrival at the hospitals. The highest mean delay of delayed cases was found in university hospitals with 21.7 min ± 14.7 min (SD).ConclusionsDelays in anesthesia ready time have a high prevalence in most hospitals, however the reasons for delay are manifold, making interventions to reduce delay complex.

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