Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/224661
OSE_1213_part2_Layout 1 12/5/13 2:54 PM Page 73 OR HYGIENE • Washable keyboards. Studies have shown that anesthesia providers who neglect hand hygiene present a significant infection risk to patients by transferring bacteria from contaminated surfaces to the bloodstream via IV lines. Computer keyboards on anesthesia workstations are one of the surfaces they touch most frequently during a case. Disinfecting keyboards isn't easy, though, and harsh products can damage electronic components inside and out, says L. Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, medical director of the infection control department of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. "It would be helpful to have keyboards that were washable," durable and sealed single-piece devices that are easily and thoroughly wiped down, she says. "But would they be comfortable for practical use? Keyboard covers are not very comfortable, for instance, and when something limits use, people stop using it." • Copper surfaces. Surface disinfection is usually an interventional act, notes Michael G. Schmidt, PhD, vice chair of the microbiology and immunology department at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. While those interventions reduce the presence of bacteria on a surface, bacteria quickly rebound. What if high-touch surfaces helped themselves out? "Copper is inherently antimicrobial and continuously active," says Dr. Schmidt, due to sub-atomic conductivity that leaches electrons from bacterial cells to inactivate them. Routinely cleaned copper alloy surfaces kill 99.9% of MRSA, VRE and other superbugs within 2 hours of exposure. A study he co-authored in the July 2012 Journal of Clinical Microbiology found that hospital ICU rooms equipped with copper surfaces — such as stretcher-bed rails, tray tables, IV poles, call buttons and door hardware — showed a 58% lower infection rate than rooms without copper. The strategic use of copper in rapid-patientturnover environments could bolster infection prevention efforts without even requiring changes to standard practice, he points out. D E C E M B E R 2013 | 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 7 3