617 Does Wearing Enhanced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) In Theatre Increase Surgeon Workload and Patient Morbidity?

Abstract

Introduction: Delivery of surgical services during the Covid-19 pandemic has required the use of enhanced PPE in the operating theatre. We sought to evaluate the impact of this change on surgeon workload and intraoperative patient outcomes. Method(s): Surgeons performing as primary operator completed an online procedure-specific questionnaire on workload ratings for each operative case, using an extension of the validated Surgeon Task Load Index (SURG-TLX) tool (reported on a 20-point scale), together with operative details. Local approval was obtained at individual sites. Data was analysed in Stata SE v16. Result(s): 118 responses (17 surgeons, 7 specialties) were collected from June to September 2020. 77.1% used enhanced PPE. There was no association between enhanced PPE use and overall workload (p=0.151) as measured with SURG-TLX, although surgeons wearing enhanced PPE commonly reported finding individual procedures harder than expected (37% vs 0%, p<0.001). Communication was rated worse when using enhanced PPE use (MD-4.38, 95%CI-6.74 to 02.03; p<0.001). There was no association between enhanced PPE use and intraoperative complications (p=0.745). Conclusion(s): The use of enhanced PPE is not associated with complications or increased surgeon workload assessed by SURG-TLX. It is, however, associated with difficulty in communicating, and subjectively experiencing more procedural challenge than anticipated.