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O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT 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.
all of the statements are true
Answer:
b
Use electronic sponge management systems only as an adjunct to rigid counting
procedures to provide an extra layer of safety. The technology is designed to veri-
fy the count conducted by the circulator and the surgical technologist, not replace
the manual process. Remember that in most surgical cases involving an RFO, no
one was aware there was a problem and the count was documented as "correct."
You must account for all sponges, sharps, needles
and instruments by the end of surgery. When is that?
a.
when the patient leaves the OR
b.
anesthesia emergence
c.
when the last stitch or staple is placed
d.
when the surgeon leaves the OR
Answer:
c
Waiting until after complete skin closure to rectify counts could add time to the
case if there is a missing item, which extends anesthesia and places the patient
at additional risk. Failure to identify and prevent an RFO before the completion
of skin closure is an indicator that a breakdown in the counting system
occurred, and should be investigated. The definition of "the end of surgery" may
seem like semantics, but it's important that everyone in the OR is working off
the same understanding of when counts should be completed.
OSM
Mr. Flora (
chad.flora @harrishealth.org
) is a perioperative nursing leader at Ben Taub
Hospital in Houston, Texas.
R E T A I N E D O B J E C T S
