Prone positioning in the elderly extends perioperative process times: a retrospective analysis

Objective: Cervical bone fractures describe a predominant trauma in the elderly. With demographic change, prone patient positions might create further stress on personnel resources. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct an age-related analysis of pre- and intraoperative process times in patients with cervical fractures.Methods: We reviewed all schedules with cervical spine surgery performed at a tertiary hospital. Two different operative patient positions were specified: prone and supine. We retrospectively analysed three study groups: comparison group (group 1: =80 years). We recorded date and kind of surgery, biometric data, and process times by screening recordings of internal software programs (COPRA® and SAP 710®). Group comparisons were conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post hoc test and Bonferroni correction, Pearson's chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test, as required. Results: 330 patients (202 male; 128 female) were analysed. The number of patients in the resulting age-dependent groups 1-3 were n=102, n=123, and n=105, respectively. Patients of increasing age and in supine position showed a continuous increase in the time needed for anaesthesia induction (mean between 4 and 8 minutes (p=80 Jahre). Erfasst wurden das Datum und die Art der Operation, biometrische Daten und die perioperativen Prozesszeiten anhand interner Softwareprogramme (COPRA® und SAP 710®). Die Gruppenvergleiche erfolgten unter Verwendung des Kruskal-Wallis-Tests mit Dunns Post-hoc-Test und Bonferroni-Korrektur, Pearson's Chi-Quadrat-Test und dem Mann-Whitney-U-Test.Ergebnisse: 330 Patienten (202 männlich, 128 weiblich) wurden analysiert. Die Patientenanzahl der altersabhängigen Gruppen (1-3) lag bei n=102, n=123, bzw. n=105. Patienten mit zunehmendem Alter und Rückenlage zeigten eine zeitliche Verlängerung der Anästhesieeinleitung (Mittelwert 4 Minuten bzw. 8 Minuten, p