Determination of the factors caused interruptions during the surgical counts in the operating room

Surgical counting is a complex and important task in terms of patient safety, requiring constant attention by the surgical team to preserve foreign bodies that are unintentionally forgotten in patients during surgical intervention. Interruptions in the operating room are common and adversely affect the patient safety in surgery. Decreasing the interruptions in the operating room is very important for the patient safety and quality of patient care. However, there is limited literatüre about interruptions during surgical counts. This prospective observational study was conducted to identify interruptions during surgical counts in the operating room. The research data obtained with ''Surgical Counts Observation Form'' consisted of 34 questions during 162 general surgery cases between September and November 2022. According to the this study's results, interruptions during surgery counts are common. Recommendations are suggested that can reduce interruptions during surgical counts.