6 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8
T
he stainless
steel surface
is so clean
you can see
your reflec-
tion in it. But an invisible
danger remains: infectious
microbes lying in wait to
contaminate the next item
they touch and transmit
dangerous infections to
the next patient you treat.
Yes, "visually clean"
high-touch surfaces can
harbor contamination.
Look around at your high-
touch surfaces: key-
boards, touchscreens,
light switches, phone, bed
rails, the over-bed table, call buttons and patient care equipment.
Even the OR floor. If they appear to be clean, they might not be.
"These surfaces are of high concern because surfaces that are in
closer proximity to an infected patient have the highest probability of
becoming contaminated by the patient shedding virus or bacteria,"
says Christine Greene, MPH, PhD, principal research investigator in
contamination control at NSF International.
A 2011 study found that of the 80% of high-touch surfaces that passed
visual assessment, only 19% were found to be microbiologically clean
(Ferreira et al., 2011). Another study found that of the 82% percent of
the surfaces that passed visual inspection, only 30% were found to be
• LOOKS CLEAN It's not uncommon for surfaces that look clean to harbor
contamination.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
