Surgical gowning technique: Are we contaminated before we cut?

12^th International Conference on ORTHOPEDICS, OSTEOPOROSIS & TRAUMA

November 13-14, 2019 | London, UK

Kenton Panas

O.U. Medical Center, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Orthop Trauma Surg Rel Res

Abstract :

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess possible breaches of sterility during the initial gowning step.

Design: Observational study. 27 gowning events were monitored for contamination during a simulated two-person gowning process in which a surgical technician assists a surgeon in the gowning process at the beginning of a surgical procedure. The lower portion of the technician’s gown was coated resin power prior to the gowning process to simulate contamination.

Setting: Single-institution level 1 trauma center.

Participants: Three physicians and three tenured surgical technicians.

Intervention: Observed contaminated areas represented by ultraviolet (UV) resin powder under UV light on the gown of the surgeon after the two-person gowning step.

Main Outcome Measurement(s): Number and surface area of contamination events.

Results: There was a 66.67% rate of contamination of the surgeon’s gown sleeves while being gowned by a surgical technician. The overall median contamination for the short surgeon was 1.3 cm2. For the medium height surgeon, the overall median contamination was 1.4 cm2. The tall surgeon had an overall median contamination of 2.9 cm2. Of the short, medium, and tall surgeons, the number of contamination events were six, five, and seven, respectively. The study suggested the surgeon’s height was a significant source of variation (p=0.046).