Canadian operating room nursing journal
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The current social trend towards personal esthetics has come into conflict with safe perioperative care practices. While artificial nails have become very popular they pose a significant risk to patients. Surgical personnel who scrub while wearing artificial nails are putting their patients at higher risk for post-surgical wound infection. ⋯ We cannot rely on surgical gloves to always contain these hand organisms. There are reported cases where artificial nails have been the cause of post-surgical infections and even death. OR personnel who scrub should not wear artificial nails.