Operating room hygiene: Clinical practice recommendations

Surgical Masks Affect the Peripheral Oxygen Saturation and Respiratory Rate of Anesthesiologists

Background

Surgical masks (SMs) protect medical staff and reduce surgical site infections. Extended SM use may reduce oxygen concentrations in circulation, causing hypoxia, headache, and fatigue. However, no research has examined the effects of wearing SMs on oxygenation and physical discomfort of anesthesiologists.

Methods

An electronic questionnaire was established and administered through WeChat, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine SM use duration and related discomfort of operating room medical staff. Then, operating room anesthesiologists were enrolled in a single-arm study. Peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate, and respiratory rate were determined at different times before and after SM use. Shortness of breath, dizziness, and headache were subjectively assessed based on the visual analog scale (VAS) scores.

Results

In total, 485 operating room medical staff completed the electronic questionnaire; 70.5% of them did not change SMs until after work, and 63.9% wore SMs continuously for more than 4 h. The proportion of anesthesiologists was the highest. After wearing masks for 4 h, the shortness of breath, fatigue, and dizziness/headache rates were 42.1, 34.6, and 30.9%, respectively. Compared with other medical staff, the proportion of subjective discomfort of anesthesiologists increased significantly with prolonged SM use from 1 to 4 h. Thirty-five anesthesiologists completed the study. There was no difference in anesthesiologist SpO2, heart rate, or respiratory rate within 2 h of wearing SMs. After more than 2 h, the variation appears to be statistically rather than clinically significant—SpO2 decreased (98.0 [1.0] vs. 97.0 [1.0], p < 0.05), respiratory rate increased (16.0 [3.0] vs. 17.0 [2.0], p < 0.01), and heart rate remained unchanged. As mask use duration increased, the VAS scores of shortness of breath, dizziness, and headache gradually increased.

Conclusion

In healthy anesthesiologists, wearing SMs for more than 2 h can significantly decrease SpO2 and increase respiratory rates without affecting heart rates.

Analysis of the Application Effect of PDCA Cycle Management Combined With Risk Factor Management Nursing for Reducing Infection Rate in Operating Room

Purpose

To explore the application effect of plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle management combined with risk factor management nursing in an operating room.

Methods

A total of 150 surgical patients in our hospital from November 2020 to February 2021 were selected as the conventional group, and 150 surgical patients in our hospital from March 2021 to June 2021 were selected as the research group. The conventional group implemented routine infection management, and the research group implemented PDCA cycle management combined with risk factor management. Detection of pathogenic bacteria, incidence of incision infection, infection control, occurrence of irregular events, and nursing quality in the operating room were observed in the two groups.

Results

The detection rate of Gram-negative bacillus and Gram-positive cocci, infection rate of incision, and total incidence of irregular events in the research group were lower than those in the conventional group (P < 0.05). The qualified rate of disinfection of object surface, hands of medical staff and air, and nursing quality scores in the research group were higher than those in the conventional group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle management combined with risk factor management nursing can reduce the detection rate of pathogenic bacteria and infection rate of incision in the operating room, reduce the incidence of irregular events, improve the qualified rate of disinfection, and greatly improve the quality of nursing, which can be considered to be widely used in clinical practice.