The following is a summary of “Estimating costs of anesthesia supplies for intraoperative infection control,” published in the June 2023 issue of the Infection Control by Datta et al.

Some costs for anesthesia supplies used to prevent intraoperative infections depend on the surgical procedure and the extent of the operation. The linear relationship between regular anesthesia supplies and medications and the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Relative Value Guide units is known for virtually all cases in the United States of America. The researchers hypothesized a linear relationship between infection control product costs and anesthesia unit costs. 

A prospective observational study of 38 surgical cases was conducted. Alcohol hand dispensers, microfiber cloths for machine disinfection, disinfecting and cleansing caps for syringe tips, Luer connectors, and stopcocks were among the tracked anesthesia infection control supplies. The cost per case was computed using payments made in 2022 dollars. Using least squares linear regression to correlate anesthesia units (base + time) with supply costs, none of the five potential extra non-linear terms were significant (all P≥.46). Additional evaluation revealed an absence of fit to a quadratic model. 

The cost-to-units Pearson linear correlation coefficient was 0.88. Based on the linear model, an example demonstrating how to forecast annual infection control supply costs for anesthesia was developed. A valid method for predicting intraoperative anesthesia supplies to reduce bacterial transmission in the anesthesia workspace is to assume a linear relationship with the total number of anesthesia units. This predictor is typically known for all anesthetics.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019665532200596X