AORN journal
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A code blue in the OR is a low-volume, high-risk event. To be effective during a code blue event, perioperative personnel must be able to properly execute a response plan and perform seldom-used skills and procedures. ⋯ One month after the educational experience, all team members passed an observed competency for responding to a code blue in a simulation laboratory. These results show the effectiveness of the educational experience as part of the code blue drills program in the hospital's main OR.
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Proper adherence to infection control precautions, including appropriate selection and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), is of significant importance to the health and well-being of perioperative personnel. Surgical masks are intended for use as a barrier to protect the wearer's face from large droplets and splashes of blood and other body fluids; however, surgical and high-filtration surgical laser masks do not provide enough protection to be considered respiratory PPE. ⋯ Filtering facepiece respirators greatly reduce a wide size range of particles from entering the wearer's breathing zone and are designed to protect the user from both droplet and airborne particles. Every health care worker who must use a respirator to control hazardous exposures in the workplace must be trained to properly use the respirator and pass a fit test before using it in the workplace.
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During the initiation of a new robotic surgery program, a quality improvement team explored different techniques for positioning patients in the lithotomy and steep Trendelenburg position during robot-assisted procedures. Concerns associated with placing patients in the steep Trendelenburg position include the patient slipping toward the head of the bed and experiencing hemodynamic changes that may result in a rise in blood pressure, increased intraocular and intracranial pressures, and difficulty with ventilation, particularly in patients with a high body mass index. ⋯ The quality improvement team evaluated and compared two positioning devices: an air-inflated positioning device and high-density foam padding. Both methods allowed personnel to position the patient without compromise; the surgeons performing the robot-assisted procedures preferred the high-density foam padding.