Operating room sterilization and disinfection methods
Subject Areas : Veterinary Soft and Hard Tissue Surgery
Davoud Kazemi
1
*
,
Nastaran Karimfar
2
1 -
2 - DVM Student, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
Keywords: Operating room, Design, Ventilation, Cleaning and disinfection, Sterilization,
Abstract :
Background: A review of operating room sterilization and disinfection methods
Objectives: Explain various methods of operating room sterilization and disinfection
Methods: A literature review using various publications related to operating room sterilization and disinfection
Results: An operating room is a restricted location in a hospital where surgery is performed. The history of operating room construction as a specialized facility for performing surgery dates back to the 18th century. Before that, surgeries were usually performed at patient's or surgeon's place of residence. Early operating rooms did not have ideal structural conditions and were mostly built as a place to demonstrate surgical operations. With the identification of microorganisms, especially bacteria, as the causative agents of postoperative infections, the design of operating rooms was altered to control these infections. Surgery is an invasive treatment method and exposes the patient to surgical site infections. These infections are caused by contamination of the surgical wound by microorganisms, especially bacteria. Natural flora of the patient, surgical equipment, surgical team and physical environment of the operating room are considered as sources of infective bacteria. Operating rooms can be contaminated by unfiltered air, ventilation systems, disinfectants, discharges from infected wounds, transport of patients and collection bags, excessive traffic in the operating room, clothes, shoes, hands and gloves of surgical team members, non-sterile surgical equipment and contaminated surfaces. Therefore, to prevent surgical site infections, apart from the surgical site, surgical equipment and surgical team, the physical environment of the operating room must also be designed, maintained and disinfected using appropriate methods. This review article describes general principles of operating room design and ventilation along with daily cleaning, disinfection and sterilization methods.
Conclusions: Daily cleaning and disinfection of the operating room is mandatory as one of the most important aspects of prevention of surgical site infections and should be conducted by experienced and trained staff.
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