Operative team communication during simulated emergencies: Too busy to respond?

Background: Ineffective communication among members of a multidisciplinary team is associated with operative error and failure to rescue. We sought to measure operative team communication in a simulated emergency using an established communication framework called "closed loop communication." We hypothesized that communication directed at a specific recipient would be more likely to elicit a check back or closed loop response and that this relationship would vary with changes in patients' clinical status.