Distractions in the operating room: a survey of the healthcare team.

Background: Distractions during surgical procedures are associated with team inefficiency and medical error. Little is published about the healthcare provider's perception of distraction and its adverse impact in the operating room. We aim to explore the perception of the operating room team on multiple distractions during surgical procedures.

Miscount incidents: a novel approach to exploring risk factors for unintentionally retained surgical items.

Background: An estimated 1,500 operations result in retained surgical items (RSIs) each year in the United States, resulting in substantial morbidity. The rarity of these events makes studying them difficult, but miscount incidents may provide a window into understanding risk factors for RSIs.

Methods: A cohort study of all consecutive operative cases during a 12-month period was conducted at a large academic medical center to identify risk factors for surgical miscounts.