Comparison of Operating Room Utilization Time Between Immediate and Delayed Sequential Bilateral Cataract Surgery at a Tertiary Hospital in Thailand.

PURPOSE: To compare operating room (OR) utilization time between immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) and delayed sequential bilateral cataract surgery (DSBCS) at a tertiary care hospital in Thailand.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

This prospective observational study was conducted at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. From April to September 2024, a total of 99 patients were recruited (45 ISBCS, 54 DSBCS). Nine DSBCS patients were excluded due to surgery intervals exceeding 12 weeks, resulting in 90 patients (45 per group) for analysis. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline covariates. Weighted linear regression models were used to estimate treatment effects on total OR time and its components, including preparation, draping, surgical, exit, and turnover times.

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics showed ISBCS group had more surgeries performed by younger surgeons (p = 0.014) and more frequent use of toric (p = 0.034) and preloaded IOLs (p = 0.004). Average OR utilization time was 55.8 minutes (SD = 12.0) for ISBCS and 60.0 minutes (SD = 12.9) for DSBCS. After IPTW adjustment, ISBCS reduced total OR time by 5.81 minutes (95% CI 0.87 to 10.76) compared to DSBCS. This reduction remained consistent across multivariate models (5.86-5.99 minutes). Time savings were primarily attributed to shorter surgical time (p = 0.006), exit time (p < 0.001), and turnover times (p = 0.002). Surgeon experience had the most significant impact on OR time.

CONCLUSION

ISBCS reduced total OR utilization time by approximately 6 minutes (10%) per patient compared to DSBCS, enhancing operational efficiency and potentially increasing surgical capacity.