ed percutaneous injuries.
We started to see dramatic improvements in sharps handling prac-
tices after presenting those stats at monthly physician-led committees
and staff meetings. The constant sharing of statistics and clinical data
about the incidences and risks of exposure will hammer home the
importance of sharps safety. Show new surgeons, nurses and techs
the same information before they step foot in your ORs. Make your
facility's culture of safety crystal clear before they pick up a sharp for
the first time.
Neutral zone passing
The surgical team should verbally agree during the pre-op briefing
whether a case will involve hand-to-hand passing or use of a hands-free
neutral zone. Whenever possible, you should use a neutral zone. Your
team should designate and announce the area where sharps will be
placed for surgeons or techs to pick up. Using a towel on the corner of a
Mayo stand works, and is definitely better than using no neutral zone at
all, but we've found that commercially available products such as bright-
ly colored magnetic basins and rubber pads work best for several rea-
sons. They offer a visual cue of where the neutral zone is located,
they're more stable (Mayo stands can get bumped during cases) and
they keep sharps in place once they're laid on the surfaces.
Only permit hand-to-hand passing of sharps during cases or instances
when the surgeon cannot avert his eyes from the surgical field, such as
during ophthalmic surgery or the suturing of delicate vessels. If the sur-
geon needs to switch from neutral zone passing to hand-to-hand pass-
ing mid-procedure, he must announce the transition to the entire surgi-
cal team to put everyone in the room on high alert and increase the
awareness of whoever is making the sharps exchange. For safety's
sake, place the sharp in a surgeon's hand in a way that makes ergonom-
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