Article
The influence of traffic, area location, and other factors on operating room microbial load
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
(2018)
Abstract
Objective. This research seeks to understand how the movement of patients, equipment, materials, staff, and door openings within the operating room (OR) affect microbial loads at various locations within the OR.
Design. Observation and Sampling.
Setting. Academic health center – public hospital.
Methods. We first analyzed 27 videotaped procedures to determine the areas in the OR with high and low numbers of people in transit. We then placed air samplers and settle plates in representative locations during 21 procedures in four different ORs, during two different seasons of the year, to measure microbial load, in colony forming units (CFU). The temperature and humidity, number of door openings, physical movement, and the number of people in the OR were measured for each procedure. Analysis was done using hierarchical regression.
Results. The microbial load was affected by the time of year when the samples were taken. Also, both microbial load measured by the air samplers and by settle plates in one area of the OR is correlated with the physical movement of people in the same area, but not with the number of door openings and the number of people in the OR.
Conclusions. Movement in the OR is correlated with the microbial load. This suggests that by establishing operational guidelines or developing OR layouts that focus on minimizing movement by incorporating desirable internal storage points and workstations, microbial load can potentially be reduced, thereby potentially reducing surgical site infection risk.
Keywords
- Traffic flow,
- microbial load,
- settle plates,
- air sampling,
- staff movement,
- regression analysis,
- operating room,
- surgical site infection
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring February 15, 2018
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2017.323
Citation Information
1. Taaffe K, Lee B, Ferrand Y, Fredendall L, San D, Salgado C, Shvorin D, Khoshkenar A, Reeves S, the Realizing Improved Patient Care through Human-Centered Design in the Operating Room (RIPCHD.OR) Study Group. The influence of traffic, area location, and other factors on operating room microbial load. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology 2018;39(4):391-7.