AUTHOR=Restaino Stefano , D’Indinosante Marco , Perelli Federica , Arcieri Martina , Cherchi Vittorio , Petrillo Marco , Cavaliere Anna Franca , Cianci Stefano , Pellecchia Giulia , Meniconi Roberto Luca , Coppola Alessandro , Chiantera Vito , Scambia Giovanni , Driul Lorenza , Vizzielli Giuseppe , SPIGC Working Group , Berton Federico , Conti Luigi , Formisano Giampaolo , Guaitoli Eleonora , Iossa Angelo , Maruccia Michele , Mazzari Andrea , Oragano Luigi , Pasculli Alessandro , Ratti Francesca , Serenari Matteo , Settembrini Alberto , Sirignano Pasqualino , Soriero Domenico , Vallicelli Carlo , Cianci (Sicilia) Stefano , Iaco (Puglia) Giulia De , Falcone (Campania) Francesca , Giaccari (Triveneto) Sara , Giovenzana (Lombardia) Marco , Pasqui (Toscana) Edoardo , Petrillo (Sardegna) Marco , Portigliotti (Piemonte) Luca , Sena (Calabria) Giuseppe , Sparavigna (Liguria) Marco , Bettini Giordana , Fanello Gianfranco , Mendogni Paolo , Monteleone Lorenzo , Ardò Davide Pertile Nicoletta Pia , Tomaiuolo Pasquina , Negrello Sara , Di Bartolomeo Mattia , Patini Romeo , Marcuzzo Alberto Vito , Campione Alberto , Comacchio Giovanni , Murana Giacomo , Antonio Martino , Manitto Mattia , Galzerano Giuseppe , Di Marco Carlo , Velluti Francesco , Berardi Gianmauro , Romboli Andrea , Weindelmejer Jacopo , Tamburrino Domenico , Calarco Alessandro , Losco Luigi , Nacchiero Eleonora , Elia Rossella , Torto Federico Lo , Vicenti Giovanni , Pappalardo Vincenzo , Pisani Dafne , Palmisano Graziano , Brascia Debora , Troisi Luigi , Renzi Federica , Melandro Fabio , Pecere Silvia , Gazia Carlo , Di Franco Gregorio , Romano Gaetano , Bolletta Alberto , Botteri Emanuele , Di Meo Giovanna , Ronsini Carlo , Chiappetta Sonia , Sgaramella Ilaria , Pennestri Francesco , Girardi Antonella , Mariniello Donatella , Marcasciano Marco , Telegrafo Michele , Fragomeni Simona , Paoli Francesca De , Bogani Giorgio , Alletti Salvatore Gueli , Anchora Luigi Pedone , Corte Luigi Della , Piovano Elisa , Borghese Martina , Taliento Cristina , Raimondo Diego , Raffone Antonio , Casarin Jvan , Perrone Emanuele , Stabile Guglielmo , Capozzi Vito TITLE=Ergonomics in the operating room and surgical training: a survey on the Italian scenario JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=12 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1417250 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1417250 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=Introduction

Surgical-related injuries are frequent, in fact the reported percentage of musculoskeletal disorders in surgeons is between 47% and 87%. These conditions are caused by long periods of standing, incorrect postures, repeated movements, little rest between operations, the lack of integrated operator rooms, the correct number and arrangement of monitors and the use of non-ergonomic instruments. This survey aims to assess the Italian overview both highlighting how prevalent surgical-related injury is in our surgeons and whether there is an operating room ergonomics education program in Italian surgical specialty schools.

Methods

An anonymous questionnaire was designed through SurveyMonkey© web application. This survey was composed of 3 different sections concerning the general characteristics of the participants, their surgical background and any training performed, and any injuries or ailments related to the surgical activity. The survey was carried out in the period 1th of December 2022 and the 6th of February 2023.

Results

At the close of our survey, 300 responses were collected. Among the participants, the two most represented specialties were Gynecology and Obstetrics (42.3%) and General Surgery (39.7%) and surgeons were mainly employed in the Northern regions of Italy (54.8%). Analyzing the participants’ background, 61.7% of the respondents had laparoscopic training during their training and only 53.1% had a pelvic trainer during their residency. In accordance with 98.7% of the respondents, during surgery we have the feeling of being in an uncomfortable position that causes discomfort or muscle pain, and regarding the frequency of these discomforts, the majority of our study population experiences these problems monthly (46.2%), while in 29.6% it is experienced weekly, 12.1% annually and finally 12.1% daily. The surgical approach that is most correlated with these disorders is laparoscopy (62.7%) while the one that causes the least discomfort is robotic surgery (1.4%). These discomforts cause 43.9% of our population to take a break or do short exercises to reduce pain during surgery, and the body areas most affected are the back (61.6%), neck (40.6%) and shoulders (37.8%).

Conclusion

Despite this, our survey allows us to highlight some now-known gaps present in the surgical training program of our schools and the lack of protection toward our surgeons during their long career.