2 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A U G U S T 2 0 1 8
E
ver count the
number of
times the OR
doors open during a
case? You'd be
amazed and alarmed.
It could be as many as
40 door openings per
hour. In and out, in
and out, all case long.
Why so much foot
traffic during a sterile
procedure? When I
asked my colleagues, I
got all kinds of
answers.
Not surprisingly, the
most common reason
for door openings was
to speak to someone
in the room (I was
guilty of that!) — to ask questions, to check on cases or to process
paperwork. Some said they enter and leave for breaks or to relieve
someone, while others said they left and came back to retrieve and
deliver supplies during a case. Some even used the OR as a shortcut,
passing through the room to get to another place in the building or to
exit.
Are You Opening the Door to SSIs?
Simple steps to reduce OR foot traffic — a preventable infection risk.
Infection Prevention
Margaret M. Thomas, MSN, BS, RN, CNOR
• STOP THE POP-IN Even a quick stop into the OR during a procedure increases the risk for infections.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
