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OR HYGIENE
process in every OR, but it can be used selectively," she says.
Example: Tomorrow's first case of the day is a patient with a history
of multiple prosthetic joint infections and you want to do everything
possible to optimize environmental cleanliness in the OR. So set the
system that night to cap off a terminal cleaning.
"We demonstrated that while between-case contamination continued
to rise from case to case with standard cleaning, it was reduced to
almost zero with [UV disinfection]," says Dr. Bruno-Murtha. "This suggests that enhanced disinfection in a busy OR could improve patient
safety. Further investigation, however, is necessary to determine
whether UV disinfection can reduce surgical site infections." OSM
E-mail doconnor@outpatientsurg ery.net.
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2013
