Water use in the surgical scrub: surgeons can reduce their environmental footprint.

摘要

Large parts of Eastern Australia have been in drought for a protracted period. This has meant widespread application of water restrictions in many areas, with significant improvements in domestic and commercial water use. Climate change has been attributed to human activity and this change is predicted to have significant impact on human health.There have been calls in the medical literature for a more concerted effort from medical professionals to reduce their carbon footprint. Until recently, however, there has not been any quantification of water use during the surgical scrub in the published literature. A recent study in Glasgow showed savings in water use and energy between different types of tap ware in surgical scrub bays. Empirically, it makes sense to turn off the tap between wetting and rinsing while scrubbing. What is less apparent is how much impact on water usage such action would have. Observation of water use patterns by staff performing the surgical scrub indicated wide variation in selection of flow rate and on/off control. In order to quantify how much water use could be reduced by using water-sparing practices during the surgical scrub, I performed the following investigation.