Surgical Attire & Surgical Suite Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is the importance of asepsis?
A lack of proper asceptic technique can lead to infection. Infections lead to increased post-operative treatment, hospitalization, cost, risk of mortality, pain of patient and dissatisfaction of client.
What are the differences between clean, contaminated, asepsis and sterile.
Clean- free of obvious debris
Contaminated- dirty
Asepsis- removal of pathogenic organisms
Sterile- removal of all microorganisms
List the three major barriers of infection
Environmental
Surgical staff
Patient
List some of the ways people can contribute to contamination potential. How do they do that?
Contamination happens due to increased number of particles in the OR.
- Increased number of people in the OR
- Talking
- Skin exposure
- Activity/Movement
- Especially moving in/out of OR
What is the primary source of contamination from the surgeon?
SKIN DEBRIS
List the parts of surgical attire.
Scrubs (meant primarily for the OR or worn with covers out of OR)
Gowns
Gloves
Foot covers
MUST BE WORN TO ENTER OR
Head Covers
Face Masks
Describe the aspects of surgical gowns
STERILE
- Specific field below shoulders and above waist, hands should be kept in sterile rectangle or else break aseptic field
-Water resistant (except cuffs, covered by surgical gloves)
-Lint free
-Tied in by assistant
-Folded to keep the top exterior inside
Describe the importance of head covers.
Head covers prevent hair from falling into surgical site, hair has more bacteria than skin. Reusable caps must be thrown out after 75 washes and washed before every surgery.
True or False: Face masks are effective bacterial filters.
False. They only function to redirect airflow away from surgical site and are most effective in under two hours. Important to reduce talking.
Describe the importance of foot covers.
They limit the contamination caused by walking that introduces 15% of contamination into the air. Best option is to have dedicated surgery shoes. Foot covers are not useful in equine surgery suites. Good consistent cleaning of floors is very important!
How should gloves fit? How can they be used?
Gloves should be snug, but not cut off circulation.
Gloves are sterile and only used once and disposed once contaminated.
There are special circumstances when thick gloves, double gloves or added sleeves are used in surgery.
True or False: Good hand scrubbing is done with little damage to the skin.
True. Hand scrubbing should limit any damage to the skin to prevent rebound bacterial overgrowth. This overgrowth/infection/open wound will be difficult to remove bacteria from for the next procedure.
List the hand scrubs that can be used for surgery prep.
Aqueous scrub- Chlorohexidine gluconate and Povidone-iodine
Alcohol rub- Ethanol, isopropanol or n-proponol
What are the pros and cons to Chlorohexidine scrub?
Immediately bactericidal with residual activity (keeps working after washing)
Potentially inactivated by regular soap and hand cream.
What are the pros and cons to Povidone scrubs?
Possibly better activity against resistant bacteria.
Poor residual activity and people may be sensitive to this scrub.
What must be done first before an alcohol-based rub?
Hands have to be cleaned first, often done best with regular soap or could be used with chlorohexidine.
Describe alternative surgical attire. Where is this acceptable.
Usually only sterile gloves are worn, sometimes gowns over coveralls or coveralls with sterile sleeves. Usual practice for field surgeries.
Describe the ideal air flow in a surgical suite with the pros/cons.
Laminar air filtering system through a HEPA filter, significantly reduces bacterial count but it’s expensive to set up.
