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Sterile Lint & Fibers in the OR: What's the Big Deal?
Keyword(s)
halyard, CA, nurse, allied health, 1241, sterile lint, sterile fibers, OR, operating room, healing, suboptimal conditions, healing, microbodies, contamination, infections, amplified inflammation, prolonged inflammation, granulomas, adhesions, 2017 ,
Credit
CA:2.0
Description
One of the most important attributes of a living organism is the capacity to self-repair. This ability is expected and observed every time a patient undergoes a major or minor invasive procedure. Needless to say, lack of this healing ability would render surgery useless and every injury, whether large of small, would be a potential death sentence. Suboptimal conditions can delay or interrupt the auto-processing sequence of repair and lead to various anomalies. One area related to wound healing that has had considerable focus in some surgical specialties, but is often neglected in others, is the impact of foreign microbody contamination, ie, minute pieces of debris left in the surgical site. The presence of these foreign microbodies can cause various post-surgical complications including infections, amplified and prolonged inflammation, granulomas, and adhesions. Therefore, perioperative nurses should remain aware of the impact of sterile lint and fibers in the operating room (OR) on post-surgical complications and take appropriate steps to reduce their presence in order to promote positive patient outcomes. This continuing nursing education activity will discuss foreign debris-initiated post-surgical complications and their associated pathological mechanisms. It will review the sources of debris contamination, including a description of foreign microbody characteristics that can further amplify pathological responses. Strategies to determine the presence of lint in the OR and recommendations for minimizing their presence will be discussed. Effective ways to evaluate the potential for products to shed lint and fibers will be outlined. Finally, the economic implications of hospital-acquired conditions that may occur from lint and fibers in the OR will be reviewed.