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An assessment of operating room environment air contamination with nitrous oxide and halothane and some scavenging methods.

This study was designed to assess operating room contamination with nitrous oxide and halothane when nitrous oxide 3 1/min and oxygen 2 1/min containing halothane one per cent were passed into a semiclosed circle absorber system from which the patients' lungs were ventilated with an Ohio ventimeter through a cuffed tracheal tube, with the exhaled gas vented to the floor. The normal room ventilation did not consistently maintain levels below the suggested amounts, which are nitrous oxide 25 ppm and halothane 2 ppm. Careful daily check for and correction of high and low pressure leaks combined with the use of a Foregger scavenging device (7--351--005) and continuous wall vacuum accepting approximately 22 1/min enabled geometric mean values below the suggested levels to be achieved. The Protection Filter Foregger 7--365--001 was only effective in removing halothane and only if the plastic holder provided was radically modified. Attention is drawn to the numerous factors influencing the magnitude of contamination, aspects of controlling it, and the necessity to cope with the problem of dealing with scavenged gases and vapours.

Air Pollutants↗

[Prevalence of IgE-mediated allergy to natural rubber latex in operation room personnel of Rotterdam].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of IgE-mediated latex allergy in workers in an operation room (OR) complex. DESIGN: Descriptive. METHOD: Regular OR staff members of Rotterdam University Hospital were tested in May-July 1998 for latex allergy and cross-reacting allergens. Questionnaires, serologic testing and skin prick tests with different extracts were used. RESULTS: The study group comprised 163 persons (response: 70%), 30 men and 133 women, with a mean age of 38 years (range: 18-60). Twenty-three persons (14.1%) had specific IgE antibodies against latex. Persons with an atopic constitution ran an increased risk of latex sensitization (odds ratio: 4.3; 95% confidence interval: 1.6-11.4). Of these 23 persons, 16 showed symptoms of urticaria, angio-oedema, rhinoconjunctivitis and/or dyspnoea. CONCLUSION: IgE-mediated allergy to natural rubber latex was prevalent in 23/163 (14.1%) of the OR personnel.

Adult↗

Survey of infants born in 1973 or 1975 to Swedish women working in operating rooms during their pregnancies.

The outcome of deliveries during 1973 and 1975 of women working during their pregnancy in operating rooms, using register data that provided information on both occupation and outcome of delivery was studied. There were 494 women who worked throughout pregnancy, 37 women worked for more than half of their pregnancies, and 10 women worked during less than half of their pregnancies. The study groups were compared with a reference population composed of all women employed in medical work in Sweden who were delivered during the 2 years. The study population differed from the reference population with respect to maternal age (and perhaps also to parity); corrections were made for this. No differences in the incidence of threatened abortions, in birth weight, in perinatal death rate, or in the incidence of congenital malformations were found. Possibly more gestations lasting less than 37 weeks were noted. We suggest that the negative outcome of the study is due to the unbiased data collection.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

Time accuracy of a radio frequency identification patient tracking system for recording operating room timestamps.

A patient tracking system is a promising tool for managing patient flow and improving efficiency in the operating room. Wireless location systems, using infrared or radio frequency transmitters, can automatically timestamp key events, thereby decreasing the need for manual data input. In this study, we measured the accuracy and precision of automatically documented timestamps compared with manual recording. Each patient scheduled for urgent surgery was given an active radio frequency/infrared transmitter. The prototype software tracked the patient throughout the perioperative process, automatically documenting the timestamps. Both automatic and traditional data entry were compared with the reference data. The absolute value of median error was 64% smaller (P < 0.01), and the average quartile deviation of error was 69% smaller in automatic documentation. The average delay between an activity and the documentation was 80 seconds in automatic documentation and 735 seconds in manual documentation. Both the accuracy and the precision were better in automatic documentation and the data were immediately available. Automatic documentation with the Indoor Positioning System can help in managing patient flow and in increasing transparency with faster availability and better accuracy of data.

Anesthesia Department, Hospital↗

Operating room start times and turnover times in a university hospital.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To measure the start time for the first case of the day and the turnover times for subsequent cases in the operating rooms (ORs) at an academic hospital. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: ORs at a university medical center. PATIENTS: All patients undergoing an operative procedure that started between 7 A.M. and 5 P.M. weekdays for the period January 1, 1989, through June 30, 1989. INTERVENTIONS: For each patient, the following times were recorded: OR ready, patient enters OR, anesthesia induction complete, surgery start, surgery end, patient leaves OR. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients were brought into the OR just before the scheduled start time. Surgical incision was made 21 to 49 minutes after the patient was brought into the OR. Room turnover time (time from patient in to patient out) was almost uniformly 36 minutes. Patient turnover time (time from end of surgery in one patient to end of induction of next patient) was generally 1 hour. Turnover times were shorter for those ORs in which primarily monitored anesthesia care was provided and longer in ORs in which patients routinely required invasive monitoring. CONCLUSIONS: The scheduled start time for the first case of the day was generally the time the patient was brought into the OR. Because of the variable amount of time required for anesthesia induction and surgical preparation and draping, incision occurred 21 to 49 minutes later. The time between cases when no surgery was occurring was significantly longer than room turnover time because of the need to wake up one patient and induce the following patient. Because of a lack of standardized definitions, there is probably a strong perceptual difference among anesthesiologists, OR nurses, and surgeons when viewing start and turnover times. At our own teaching institution, shortening turnover times would increase the amount of elective OR time available, but the impact would not be significant because the number of procedures done per OR each day is low.

Anesthesia↗

[Operation room management in quality control certification of a mainstream hospital].

We report the results of our study concerning the organisation of operating room (OR) capacity planned 1 year in advance. The use of OR is controlled using 2 global controlling numbers: a) the actual time difference between the expected optimal and previously calculated OR running time and b) the punctuality of starting the first operation in each OR. The focal point of the presented OR management concept is a consensus-oriented decision-making and steering process led by a coordinator who achieves a high degree of acceptance by means of comprehensive transparency. Based on the accepted running time, the optimal productivity of OR's (OP_A(%) can be calculated. In this way an increase of the overall capacity (actual running time) of ORs was from 40% to over 55% was achieved. Nevertheless, enthusiasm and teamwork from all persons involved in the system are vital for success as well as a completely independent operating theatre manager. Using this concept over 90% of the requirements for the new certification catalogue for hospitals in Germany was achieved.

Certification↗

Maintenance of aseptic barriers in the conventional operating room: general principles.

Contamination of operative wounds during surgery occurs primarily through contact and secondarily through the airborne route. Inspection and maintenance of air-handling equipment is essential, with special reference to air intakes, filters, humidifiers, and exhaust systems. Doors should remain closed to maintain positive pressure. Surgical attire for all personnel must provide for complete coverage of hair and arms. Intensive interim cleaning of all horizontal sufaces between operations is essential. The infection rate is proportional to the duration of the operation and the number of personnel in the room, and inversely proportional to the air changes per hour.

Air Conditioning↗

[Contamination of the operating room by anesthetic gases and vapors. II. Gas chromatographic analysis of nitrous oxide].

The contamination by nitrous oxide of an operating room atmosphere was studied in a number of experiments, in the absence of personnel and using a gaschromatographic method. The evacuating device of the anesthesia machine proved to be ineffective to overcome the hazard of leaks in the breathing system, whereas the air conditioning flow rates (12 outside air changes per hour) minimized waste anesthetic gas concentrations.

Air Pollution↗