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Operating Room
The Infection Control Today® operating room page provides news articles and videos on the intersection between surgery and infection prevention. The operating room is a prime breeding ground for harmful pathogens to spread, resulting in surgical site infections. The role of the infection preventionist, together with the perioperative nursing staff, is to craft policies and processes to cut down on these infections and ensure patient safety during surgical procedures.
This Way to the OR, Infection Preventionists
June 02, 2021
Many infection preventionists trust that everyone working in the operating room knows what they are doing and many times shy away from going into the OR. That's a mistake.
How Infection Preventionists, OR Nurses Work Better Together
May 14, 2021
Linda Spaulding RN, BC, CIC: “It only takes you saying something a couple times that the OR knows is absolutely absurd and incorrect, and it’s going to ruin the relationship for a long time. Infection preventionists really need to take the responsibility of learning.”
Sterile Processors, Infection Preventionists Need to Team Up
March 10, 2021
Tanya Lewis, CRCST: “I just think that infection preventionists and sterile processors should always work as a team. It should always be a team effort. It’s not them or us. It’s not sterile processing. It’s not infection prevention, but it’s us as a team. And that’s the way we’re going to keep our patients safe.”
Year Zero: How COVID-19 Changed Everything
December 23, 2020
Though tough months lie ahead for infection preventionists and other healthcare professionals, hope remains that at some point in 2021 things will begin to settle down. In the end, it comes down to a simple formula: We win, COVID-19 loses.
Q&A: Infection Preventionists, OR Nurses Team Up
November 13, 2020
Linda K. Groah, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN: “Historically, we have not always had the best relationship. There’s been some competition between infection preventionists and OR managers or directors. The operating room has been that secret area behind the double doors.”
Checklists for Infection Preventionists Working in ORs
November 11, 2020
New infection preventionists can use this checklist to perform IP rounds in the surgical suite, decontamination areas, and sterile processing area.
Q&A: Operating Room Airflow Moots COVID Social Distancing
October 28, 2020
Franklin Dexter, MD: “I would recommend to those people working in different surgical suites to recognize that within an operating room, you shouldn’t assume that stepping away from the patient would put you in reduce risk. You should think about what the airflow is in the operating room.”
Surgical Attire Debate Continues as Experts Weigh the Evidence
August 01, 2019
Common sense dictates that limiting surgical patients' exposure to any reservoir that could harbor pathogenic organisms could help prevent surgical site infections (SSIs). Wearing proper surgical attire is a cornerstone of SSI prevention, yet there has been strident disagreement on some of the finer points of surgical attire and its impact on SSI rates.
The Clinical and Economic Case for Sterile, Disposable Instruments and Implants
August 01, 2019
Recent news headlines reported two deaths and 179 exposures from contaminated surgical instruments used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) at a university medical center in California.1 Similar infections also occurred in Washington, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
Understanding Determinants of Infection Control Practices in Surgery
July 22, 2019
Despite a large literature on surgical site infection (SSI), the determinants of prevention behaviors in surgery remain poorly studied. Understanding key social and contextual components of surgical staff behaviour may help to design and implement infection control (IC) improvement interventions in surgery.