British journal of perioperative nursing : the journal of the National Association of Theatre Nurses
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The mercury sphygmomanometer has been used to measure blood pressure for over a century (O'Brien 2000, Smith 2000), but due to the hazards associated with mercury spillage, there is increasing reliance on other methods, such as automatic oscillometric blood pressure monitors and aneroid sphygmomanometers. Within the theatre and recovery areas, the oscillometric method appears to be most common (Ramsey 1991).
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Preparing the operation site by painting a solution of something onto the skin is one of the best preserved rituals in surgery. There appears to be something really satisfying about this precursor to the main event, and if the solution used is brightly coloured, or stains the skin, then so much the better--you can actually see where you've been. I hope than no-one is under the illusion that because the whole leg (or arm, or abdomen or anywhere else) is now a sickly shade of brown or alarmingly pink, that no pathogenic organisms can possibly have survived the onslaught. In this comprehensive review of the literature and practice audit, Sally Kent revisits the reasons for skin preparation, and recommends the use of well proven research to determine correct practice.
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My first encounter with a latex-sensitised client occurred some eight years ago. Since then I have become aware of an increase in the number of clients presenting for surgery who have hypersensitive reaction to latex. This realisation was the impetus to undertake the following research.