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The ill surgeon: a review of common work-related health problems amongst UK surgeons

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Abstract

Introduction

Health-care workers are subjected to various occupational hazards within the National Health Service (NHS). Surgeons are not excluded from this group due to the nature of work carried out on a daily basis. As a result, we set out to investigate the common work-related health issues a surgeon practising in the UK may encounter.

Method

A literature search conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE® and Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC) revealed 66 literature papers between the years 1990 and 2013. Thirty-seven were excluded from our review process for various reasons.

Results

Surgeons in the UK are likely to be susceptible to stress, sharp injuries, burnout and psychiatric morbidities, substance abuse and musculoskeletal pain. Noise-induced hearing loss has been reported amongst orthopaedic surgeons due to the use of electric and air-powered drills and saws. No reports of skin-related illness, respiratory illness, nosocomial infections or malignancies were found within the published UK literature of our targeted group although they have been noted in other specialties.

Conclusion

These occupational hazards pose a huge risk to the NHS and the personal well-being of its surgeons. As such, the importance of early awareness and education alongside prompt intervention is duly emphasized.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Janet Bayliss, a librarian at Ipswich Hospital Trust, and Dr. Melanie Carder, a THOR project manager, for their help with the data collection and literature search.

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None.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ipswich Hospital, Heath Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 5PD, UK

    Ananth Vijendren, Matthew Yung & Jose Sanchez

Authors
  1. Ananth Vijendren
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  2. Matthew Yung
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  3. Jose Sanchez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ananth Vijendren.

Appendix

Appendix

Fig. 1
figure 1

Diagnoses of ill health in doctors reported to THOR, 2001–2012 (2006–2012 for THOR-GP). Source: The Health and Occupation Research (THOR) network (2012)

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Table 1 List of reported work-related health issues amongst UK surgeons and the particularly affected sub-specialties as noted from our literature search
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Table 2 Review of literature on stress amongst surgeons in the UK
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Table 3 Review of literature on needlestick injuries amongst surgeons in the UK
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Table 4 Review of literature on burnout and mental health illness amongst surgeons in the UK
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Table 5 Review of literature on musculoskeletal pain amongst surgeons in the UK
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Table 6 Review of literature on noise-induced hearing loss amongst surgeons and contact dermatitis within health-care professionals in the UK
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Vijendren, A., Yung, M. & Sanchez, J. The ill surgeon: a review of common work-related health problems amongst UK surgeons. Langenbecks Arch Surg 399, 967–979 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-014-1233-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00423-014-1233-3

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