White Rock, British Columbia-based Peace Arch Hospital staff members implemented a program to determine if minimizing operating room traffic yielded a decrease in orthopedic surgical site infections, according to Medical Xpress.
The hospital implemented a Comprehensive Unit-Based Program, where researchers asked surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other staff members who spend at least 60 percent of their time in the OR to complete a survey. The survey asked respondents to list what they believed caused patient harm and key strategies to prevent patient harm.
In the two-day study, two nursing students conducted a manual count of door openings during nine total joint replacements and one revision operation. The students counted between 42 openings and 70 openings per operation from incision to closing time. The average operation totaled 75 minutes.
Here are four takeaways:
1. Researchers noted subsequent traffic audits taken every six months represented a decrease in OR traffic from between 42 opens and 70 openings to only 3.2 door openings per procedure.
2. This figure may have played a part in a decreased orthopedic SSI rate from 2.8 percent to 2.1 percent.
3. In the survey, many surgeons and nurses cited too much OR traffic as a primary reason for patient harm in the OR.
4. Based on the study, researchers devised key strategies to lower orthopedic SSIs including:
• Ceasing all traffic in and out of the OR between total joint capsule opening and closure.
• To reduce traffic, surgical team members should communicate by phone.
• Increasingly use templates to identify implant size before each procedure.
• Place a sign on the OR door to remind all staff members to limit OR traffic.
• Ask staff members to list why they are entering an OR during a procedure.
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