Modification of Little's law estimates a higher number of needed staff for a veterinary anesthesia service compared to the traditional formula.

Health care modification of Little's law estimates higher anesthesia staffing needs than traditional formula.

This study compared two mathematical formulas for estimating staffing needs in veterinary anesthesia services. The traditional Little's law formula (LL) calculates required personnel based on case volume, mean anesthesia duration, and work hours per day. The health care modification (HCM) incorporates an efficiency factor of 0.8 and a 1:1 patient-to-staff ratio for anesthesia services. Data were collected from May to August 2024, analyzing 1-25 cases with durations ranging from 60-300 minutes. Statistical analysis using Wilcoxon signed rank testing revealed that the HCM consistently estimated significantly higher staffing requirements across all case duration intervals compared to the traditional LL formula. These findings suggest that accounting for real-world efficiency limitations and appropriate patient-to-staff ratios provides more realistic staffing estimates. The authors propose that the HCM may have broader applications beyond anesthesia for estimating veterinary staffing needs in other clinical areas.

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