The Journal of hospital infection
-
Comparative Study
Dispensing surgical gloves onto the open surgical gown pack does not increase the bacterial contamination rate.
In implant surgery air and surface contamination have become important factors in post-operative wound infection. We established the rate of contamination of surgical gown packs and found that dropping gloves onto the open gown pack prior to scrubbing had no effect on it. Ninety-six contact plates were used for this study, which was carried out during clean orthopaedic operations in one operating room. ⋯ However this difference was statistically not significant. The high rate of contamination was probably due to the gown packs having been left opened for too long. This delay arose because each gown pack had three gowns and would have been avoided if single gown packs had been used.
-
Comparative Study
Audit of bronchoscope disinfection: a survey of procedures in England and Wales and incidents of mycobacterial contamination.
Procedures used for cleaning/disinfection of fibreoptic bronchoscopes and incidents of mycobacterial contamination were assessed by postal questionnaire. Information supplied by the Infection Control Doctor in 129 of 198 hospitals (65.2%) was used to audit local practice for compliance with national guidelines. ⋯ Other procedural anomalies associated with mycobacterial contamination included failure to adhere to manufacturers' instructions to dismantle valves prior to cleaning and to autoclave valves/accessories. The association of mycobacterial incidents with the use of automatic washer/disinfectors (17 of 18 incidents) together with Department of Health warnings of build-up of biofilm within these chemical-process machines gives further cause for concern.