How often should privacy curtains be cleaned?

男丁格尔

3 best practices to protect surgical patients from transmissible infections (including your own)

In the fight to prevent surgical site infections, it’s important to remember that perioperative professionals can transmit their own infection to their patients. Last week a news report in the Los Angeles Times discussed surgical site infections among cardiac surgical patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center tied to a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis also found on their surgeon's hands.

“Everyone who provides surgical patient care needs to raise their awareness of the risks they may present to their patients when they suspect that they may have an infection,” advises Ramona Conner, MSN, RN, CNOR, AORN manager of standards and recommended practices.

She says the incidence of these infections provides a good opportunity for all perioperative professionals to review best safety practices from AORN and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for protecting surgical patients from transmissible infections.

Specifically, she points to two AORN recommended practices (RPs) “hot off the press” that were updated in 2012 for the 2013 edition of Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices, including:

Recommended Practices for Prevention of Transmissible Infections in the Perioperative Practice Setting
Recommended Practices for Sterile Technique
Here are the top three practice recommendations within these AORN RPs that Conner suggests perioperative professionals take time to review:

1. Report your own infection, immediately
Recommendation IX in AORN Recommended Practices for Prevention of Transmissible Infections in the Perioperative Practice Setting states:

Activities of health care personnel with infections, exudative lesions, and nonintact skin should be restricted when these activities pose a risk of transmission of infection to patients and other health care providers. State, federal, and professional guidelines and strategies should be followed to determine the need for work restrictions for health care personnel with bloodborne infections.

The evidence cited for this recommendation includes reference to the CDC’s Guideline for Infection Control in Healthcare Personnel, 1998 (reference #28).

“Health care workers should report any suspected infection on their body to their infection preventionist or employee health office as soon as they identify it,” Conner says, noting that medical clearance is necessary before a perioperative professional can return to providing direct patient care.  

2. Double glove during surgical and other invasive procedures

Recommendation III.f. in AORN Recommended Practices for Sterile Technique states:

Scrubbed team members should wear two pairs of surgical gloves, one over the other, during surgical and other invasive procedures with the potential for exposure to blood, body fluids, or other potentially infectious materials.

The CDC, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons support double gloving during invasive surgical procedures to reduce perforations to the inner glove.

3. Change gloves every 90 to 150 minutes during the procedure

Recommendation III.h. in AORN Recommended Practices for Sterile Technique states:

Surgical gloves worn during invasive surgical procedures should be changed when a visible defect or perforation is noted or when a suspected or actual perforation from a needle, suture, bone, or other object occurs; and every 90 to 150 minutes.

Conner encourages perioperative professionals to also review the referenced evidence supporting each of these recommendations.

Additional Resources

Congress Intensive Workshops focus on Sterile Processing and Cleaning, Decontamination, and Sterilization.  Learn more.

Sterilization

海豚姐姐

佩服，全版英语难为我了

猛虎蔷薇

翻译得不好，也可能出错，所以只是第一段。

How often should privacy curtains be cleaned?
病床之间的帘子多久应该清洁一次？

best practices to protect surgical patients from transmissible infections (including your own)
保护手术患者（包括你自己）、阻止传播感染的最好方法

In the fight to prevent surgical site infections,
在预防手术部位感染的各种努力中，

it’s important to remember that perioperative professionals can transmit their own infection to their patients.
有一点很重要，就是预防围手术期中医务人员把他们自己可能携带的感染 传播给他们负责的患者。

Last week a news report in the Los Angeles Times discussed surgical site infections among cardiac surgical patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center tied to a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis also found on their surgeon's hands.

上周在洛杉矶时报的一则新闻报道了 发生于西达斯西奈医学中心的，一例心脏外科手术病人发生了手术部位感染，为表皮葡萄球菌某一亚种感染， 这种菌同时也在那家医学中心的外科医生手上被发现。