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BACKGROUND
Patient warming to maintain perioperative normothermia is known to reduce temperature-related
complications, improve overall postoperative results and shorten patient hospital
stays. Forced-air warming (FAW) devices—commonly used in operating theaters—can introduce
bacteria into the surgical environment, increasing both possible contamination and
attributable Surgical Site Infection (SSI) risks. A number of published studies point
toward a surface-component contamination and tissue-air risk connection. This investigation
was designed to seek new data regarding any FAW-bacteria correlation in an effort
to both better understand possible, associated, FAW-use risks and contribute to infection-control
protocols that more effectively assist in mitigating or diminishing consequential
Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) risk.
METHODS
A total of 320 surface and air samples were collected and cultured from in and around
35 unique FAW devices actively in-use in operating room (OR) settings at three hospital
facilities in an associated acute-care system. Surface samples were taken from multiple
FAW device points: the internal hose surface, the proximal hose end and the distal
hose end. Each retrieved sample was bagged, plated and incubated under sterile procedures.
RESULTS
The results show that 24.4 percent (78 of 320) of all samples collected were at higher
than maximum acceptable Colony Forming Unit (CFU) pathogens levels. Forty-two and
half, 42.5, percent (136 of 320) of all samples were at higher than minimum acceptable
CFU levels; 37.2 percent (119 of 320) were equipment samples; 5.3 percent (17 of 320)
were air samples. Study results also identified a correlation of positive airborne
samples for instances that had high-pathogen contamination in the warmer-temperature
components, resulting in a possible increased patient infection risk and possible
attributable SSI as primary concerns.
CONCLUSIONS
FAW device-component contamination may be a risk in the OR. Cross-contamination of
the environment remains a risk as well. A reduction in surface and airborne CFUs may
positively reduce SSI and HAI infection risk.
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Copyright
© 2019 Published by Elsevier Inc.
