Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among perioperative nurses: a systematic review and META-analysis

• Main Authors: Marco Clari, Alessandro Godono, Giacomo Garzaro, Gianluca Voglino, Maria Rosaria Gualano, Giuseppe Migliaretti, Attilia Gullino, Catalina Ciocan, Valerio Dimonte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2021-02-01
• Series: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Subjects: Musculoskeletal diseases; Operating rooms: nurses; Systematic review; Meta-analysis
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-021-04057-3

Abstract Background To evaluate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) in perioperative nurses and to explore their association with personal characteristics. Methods Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Joanna Briggs Institute Database were systematically searched. A meta-analysis calculating event rates, and relative 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) was performed for each musculoskeletal body region. The contribution of perioperative nurses’ sex, age, and BMI was assessed through a meta-regression. Results Twenty-two studies, considering 3590 perioperative nurses, were included in the systematic review. The highest prevalence of WRMSDs was found for the lower-back (62%; 95% CI 0.54–0.70), followed by knee (47%; 95% CI 0.36–0.59), shoulder (44%; 95% CI 0.37–0.51), waist (42%; 95% CI 0.31–0.53), neck (39%; 95% CI 0.29–0.51), ankle-feet (35%; 95% CI 0.22–0.51), upper-back (34%; 95% CI 0.25–0.44), hand-wrist (29%; 95% CI 0.20–0.40), and elbow (18%; 95% CI 0.12–0.26). Meta-regression showed that sex, age, and BMI were not significant predictors of low-back disorders (p = 0.69; R 2 = 0). Conclusions WRMSDs represent a high prevalence issue among perioperative nurses. Perioperative nurses, in general, are steadily exposed to both physical and temporal risk factors. Further studies should be addressed to identify specific interventions aimed at reducing the burden of WRMSDs including ergonomic education and physical rehabilitation. Our data could be used in future studies as a reference to assess the risk of WRMSDs in other health-care professionals’ population.