8 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9
Y
ou can scrub every inch of an OR until your elbows
ache, but the minute someone steps into that clean
space the air becomes contaminated simply because of
their presence. They're exhaling bacteria. Their hair and
skin and clothes are shedding it. All of these contami-
nants released from surgical team members and patients float through
the air, riding air currents in the room until they settle onto instru-
ments and into incisions. You might not be able to see airborne
pathogens, but they're there, and they pose a potential danger to
every patient you treat.
How Clean Is Your OR Air?
If you think the manual cleaning of OR surfaces is
enough to prevent SSIs, you're not addressing a more invisible danger.
Maureen Spencer, MEd, RN, CIC, FAPIC | Boston, Mass.
• STIRRING THINGS UP The more people, movement and activity there is in an OR, the more likely contaminants are to
become airborne.