J U L Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 9 1
R
oughly 70% of
retained surgical
items are sponges,
and roughly 80% of
retained sponges
occur with what staff believe is a
correct count. No wonder OR man-
agers are looking to technology to
provide additional protections to
the error-prone counting process
that takes place in the clamor and
chaos of the operating room.
A fatal case in point: In
September 2017, a surgical team at
Redding (Calif.) Mercy Medical
Center left a sponge in a patient
during bypass surgery to repair dis-
eased blood vessels in his
abdomen and groin. After surgery,
the team did a sponge count and
determined that all sponges had
been retrieved. Ten days later, the
patient died after suffering compli-
cations that included a cardiac-res-
piratory arrest. A postmortem
abdominal X-ray revealed that a
Candice-Virgin Cabagnot, RN, BSN | Los Angeles, Calif.
Technology to Prevent Retained Items
Counting is prone to error.
These automated adjuncts help ensure nothing is left behind.
• OPTICAL ILLUSION One used sponge covered 2 slots in the
pocketed sponge bag, making it appear as though there were 2
sponges when there was only 1.