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Editorial comment

Better the devil you know?

Papworth Hospital, Cambridge CB23 3RE, United Kingdom

Received 18 July 2008; received in revised form 18 July 2008; accepted 21 July 2008.

^_* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1480 354299; fax: +44 1480 364744. (Email: sam.nashef@papworth.nhs.uk).

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This paper by ElBardissi and colleagues [1] applies the human factor analysis techniques to cardiac surgery. In the study, a trained observer watched 31 operations and noted disruptions to the smooth flow of the operation as technical errors and teamwork failures. The latter were further subclassified as surgeon–anaesthesiologist failures, surgeon–perfusionists failures and so forth. The authors have found strong correlation between technical errors and teamwork failures, and these were all reduced in teams composed of members who normally work together and are familiar with the operating surgeon, when compared with . . . [Full Text of this Article]