and place them back on work stations or patients. In the study, he
notes that IV tubing often touches the floor as it drapes between the
patient and the IV pump. Anesthesia providers, who often touch the
tubing, can therefore spread contamination to patients during routine
care.
That's why Dr. Carling emphasizes the importance of cleaning floors
properly between cases. Microfiber mops have been shown to be
more efficacious at removing bacteria from surfaces than cotton
mops, but their durability and effectiveness can be compromised by
laundering and drying between uses, according to a report published
in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control
(
osmag.net/N8QuUd
). More research is needed to draw definitive
conclusions about the relative advantages of microfiber mops and
cloths to cotton alternatives, says the report.
• Consider whole-room disinfection. "No-touch" surface disinfect-
ing options include aerosol and vaporized hydrogen peroxide, mobile
units that emit continuous ultraviolet light and pulsed-xenon UV light,
and use of high-intensity narrow-spectrum (405 nm) light. The
Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control report says these tech-
nologies have been shown to reduce bacterial contamination of sur-
faces, but further independent research is needed that directly com-
pares the newer methods to traditional disinfecting methods. Dr.
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 2 7
repeated the chime every 3 seconds until the door was closed.
During 50 consecutive joint replacement surgeries without the
alarm, the door was opened an average of 88 times per case
and remained open for 14 minutes per procedure. During the 50
cases with the alarm installed, the number of door openings
dropped to 69 and the door remained open for 10 minutes per
surgery. — Daniel Cook
