T
he coughing. The wheezing. Watery eyes and a runny
nose. Those are just a few of the ailments that many sur-
gical facility leaders describe when you ask how they
felt after being exposed to surgical smoke.
"I dislike the odor — it reminds me of charcoal-broiled
meat — and I am a vegetarian," says one manager who responded to
an Outpatient Surgery Magazine survey on surgical smoke.
The acrid smell, though, shouldn't be your only concern. Kay Ball,
PhD, RN, CNOR, FAAN, surgical smoke expert and an associate pro-
fessor at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, notes that her
research has shown that nurses have twice the incidence of many res-
piratory problems — including sinus infections, allergies and asthma
— compared to the general population. It's the contents of the plume
that could be to blame, she says, which range from toxic chemical
byproducts to viable bacteria and virus particles.
"We need to make this a priority," says Dr. Ball. "We have a sign on
every door that says 'No Smoking,' but we allow smoking in the OR
every day."
Smoke-filled air leads to problems
About one-third (32%) of the 76 facility leaders we surveyed say they
or a staff member have felt the flu-like symptoms of surgical smoke
exposure.
"Wheezing, sneezing, headache, nausea, watery eyes," says Ken
Warnock, CST, a surgical tech from Clinton Township, Mich. One
nurse says that one of her scrubs "became nauseated and had to leave
during the case" after working in an OR without a working smoke
evacuator.
5 5
February 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
are dangerous particles lurking in the air of your Or?
Kendal Gapinski | associate editor
