The Anesthesia Computer Work Station: A Potential Infection Risk?

摘要

The use of electronic medical records in the operating room is becoming increasingly common. Anesthesia providers access electronic medical records on the anesthesia computer workstation, composed of a computer, keyboard, and mouse. Anesthesia providers engage in frequent patient contact, and hand hygiene among providers is variable (Jacobs and Xiong, 2012). This variability could lead to potential bacterial transmission from the patient onto surfaces that the provider touches. These surfaces have the potential to then serve as sources for patient contamination if they are not decontaminated.;Approximately one in 25 patients develop a healthcare-associated infection daily; these infections are extremely costly and contribute to prolonged length of stay in the hospital. These infections range from central line-associated infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia.;The preliminary study focused on swabbing the anesthesia computer workstation mouse the morning after general anesthesia cases were performed. The results of the preliminary study indicated that the anesthesia workstation computer mouse was contaminated with colony forming units (CFUs). The research study focused on swabbing the anesthesia workstation computer mouse the morning after general anesthesia cases were performed in that particular operating room suite, followed by the application of a germicidal wipe, and finally swabbing the computer mouse again. Application of a germicidal wipe to the computer mouse significantly decreased the presence of bacteria on the computer mouse. Combining the data from both studies, we concluded that the anesthesia workstation computer mouse was a potential source of CFU transmission. We also concluded that application of germicidal agents to the surface of the mouse decreases the presence of CFUs on the surface of the mouse.