Good Theatre Practice

Question 1

Sepsis

Answer 1

Presence of pathogens

Question 2

Asepsis

Answer 2

Absence of pathogens

Question 3

Antisepsis

Answer 3

Prevention of sepsis - using antiseptics to eliminate the microorganisms that cause infection

Question 4

Steriliation

Answer 4

Completely eliminating all micro-organisms including spores

Question 5

Disinfection

Answer 5

Removal of microorganisms but may not include spores

Question 6

Disinfectant

Answer 6

Agent used to destroy microorganisms

Question 7

What does the Theatre Suite consist of?

Answer 7

Cleaning room
Sterile store of equipment
Changing area
Scrub room for surgeon/nurse
Prep room for patient
Theatre

Question 8

How is maintenance of asepsis managed?

Answer 8

Thorough cleaning
Regular disinfecting
Sterilisation of kit
Prevent build-up of sepsis

Question 9

What is a thorough theatre cleaning routine?

Answer 9

1 - Morning damp dusting first thing
2 - Cleaning and disinfecting between cases
3 - Thorough cleaning with disinfectant at the end of the day
4 - Deep cleaning once a week
○ Emptying cupboards
○ Check sterile supplies
○ Swab hard to reach places
○Checks that cleaning is successful

Question 10

Food and Water prep prior to surgery

Answer 10

Patients will undergo some form of starvation
Animals that can vomit should be starved
Food increases risk of vomiting during surgery
Some animals don’t need to be starved as they cannot vomit
Younger animals require less starvation due to glucose levels

Question 11

When does specific surgical preparation occur?

Answer 11

once animal is under GA - makes it quicker

Question 12

Examples of specific surgical preparation

Answer 12

GI surgery - enema to remove food particles and empty bowel
Urinary tract surgery - catheterisation
Oral surgery - flushing of mouth
Foot surgery - soaking in hibiscrub bags

Question 13

Types of surgical scrub

Answer 13

Chlorhexidine (hibi-scrub)
Povidine iodine - used for cholorohexidine sensitive patients
Isopropyl alcohol - takes less time to scrub

Work from incision site outwards in circular motions

Scrubbing time depends on solution

Question 14

Normal skin prep routine

Answer 14

Chlorohexidine 2% solution - min 5 minutes
povidone iodine 7.5% solution - 3 minutes (not as good bactericidal affect so clean before scrub)

Question 15

Ocular preparations

Answer 15

Use very dilute solution
povidone iodine 0.2%
chlorhexidine can irritate mucosa

Question 16

Oral preparations

Answer 16

Chlorhexidine 0.1%
Use specific oral solutions - prevent bad taste

Question 17

Foot preparations

Answer 17

Chloraxidine 2% solution
Immerse foot in solution for 5 mins then normal prep routine

Question 18

Why do we drop patients?

Answer 18

To maintain asepsis and prevent contamination of surgical site
Drape should cover entire patient, only incision site visible