Examining Critical Task Performance in Blue and Green Ambient Lighting Environments in Modern Interventional Suites: An Anesthetic Care Perspective
Authors' conclusion
This study demonstrated that ambient blue and green lighting significantly impairs the ability of OR staff to distinguish color hues, compromising color-dependent decision-making.
Study context
- Population
- OR staff and volunteers at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, simulated environment266 eligible
- Participants
- 300 participants
- Comparison
- Blue and green ambient lighting vs white light
- Primary endpoint
- Task performance (success rates, error rates and completion times) on Farnsworth D-15 Test (FT) and Drug Label Matching Test (DLMT) under blue and green vs white light
Methodological detailscrossover, single-centre
- Crossover
- Single-centre
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
FT success
Secondary outcomes
FT completion time
DLMT completion time — Blue vs White · significantly faster under white light
P < 0.001
| Outcome | Odds of an error (95% CI) | P value |
|---|---|---|
| DLMT completion timeGreen vs White · significantly faster under white light | P < 0.001 | |
| DLMT failure (error)Blue/green vs White · failure rates significantly higher under blue/green | 3.67 (1.05–12.87) | P = 0.033 |
Drug label features relied on for identification
- Reliance on color, white to blue/green
- 96.6% to ≈41%-42.5%
- Use of drug names, white to blue/green
- 76.3% to ≈80%-83%
- Grouping, white to blue/green
- 8.3% to ≈50%-56.8%
- Memory, white to blue/green
- 0.4% to ≈42%-45%
Original publication
Examining Critical Task Performance in Blue and Green Ambient Lighting Environments in Modern Interventional Suites: An Anesthetic Care Perspective. Anesth Analg. Published 25 August 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →