Stress in operating theatre personnel

Morbidity and early retirement among anaesthetists and other specialists

An historically prospective study of the rates of early retirement due to permanent ill health, early retirement between 60 and 64 years of age for other reasons, and deaths while in post, among consultant anaesthetists in England was carried out. The control group comprised consultants in four other hospital specialty groups. Approximately two-thirds of all consultants employed in the five specialties at National Health Service hospitals in England during 1966-83 were included in the study. Ill-health retirements among male anaesthetists were more than twice those expected on the basis of rates in the control group (p less than 0.001). The number of other early retirements between 60 and 64 was a third higher than expected (p less than 0.005). The number of deaths in post was also raised. For the smaller group of female anaesthetists there was not a statistically significant excess of ill-health retirements, but the number of early retirements between 60 and 64 was significantly greater than expected (p less than 0.005), as was the number of deaths in post (p less than 0.001). Possible causes of these excesses are discussed.

Effects of working environment on the liver in 10 anaesthetists

Drug-metabolising ability, i.e. antipyrine half-life, in anaesthetists was significantly slowed (23%) at the end of summer vacation (2-4 weeks), as compared to prevacation values. Despite changes in either direction, the antipyrine half-lives, including four determinations within a year and a half from the ten anaesthetists, were within normal limits. Liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine amino-transferase, alkaline phosphatase) were also normal. In one anaesthetist the test for anti-HBsAg was positive in 1980, while in the others HBsAg and anti-HBsAg were negative in 1980 and 1981. The inorganic fluoride concentrations of serum and urine (determined four times) were at normal levels. Only in one anaesthetist was there a transient, surprisingly high, serum concentration (7.9 mumol/l), apparently unrelated to work exposure.