other types of bacte-
ria and fungi can
become part of what
we all breathe.
Additionally, the
masks we use in the
OR, unless they're the
high-filtration type,
don't protect us
against all the surgical
smoke being released.
We also looked at
studies in which peo-
ple examined filters in
suctioning devices
and found that hepatitis, HIV and other bacteria can survive electro-
surgery.
One eye-opening case study (tinyurl.com/l475sto) described how a
physician who'd been lasering condylomas developed laryngeal papillo-
matosis, characterized by the same viral types as those he'd been laser-
ing. We also found literature that discussed the long list of potentially
toxic compounds that can be contained in surgical smoke. Guidance
published by AORN also had a lot of helpful recommendations.
2. We surveyed our staff. We wanted to know how much our staff
knew about surgical smoke and how to manage it. Our initial survey
found that most people weren't very confident. In general, they didn't
know why it was harmful or what the current recommendations for
managing it were.
So we put together a multimedia presentation, uploaded it onto our
E-learning network and required staff to peruse it and then take a test.
We also created a poster that detailed AORN's current recommenda-
7 2
O U T P A T 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 | A P R I L 2 0 1 5
z VESTED INTEREST Several
physicians began asking for
smoke-evacuation supplies
as a result of our initiative.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
