Localized air delivery to reduce wound contamination in operating theatres

摘要

Airborne organisms are a major contributor to the bacterial contamination of wounds in conventional operating theatres. Ultra-clean ventilation (UCV) systems can reduce contamination but they are expensive and not always available. We describe the design and testing of a ventilated instrument trolley for restricting the contamination of layed-up instruments and on the use of a 'wound-wand' to restrict wound contamination. Total viable counts on settle plates located on the ventilated trolley were up to 290 times lower than counts on plates on conventional trolleys. Settle plates on the head of a mannequin ventilated by the 'wound-wand' showed no organisms had settled.