Artificial nails... very real risks

The current social trend towards personal esthetics has come into conflict with safe perioperative care practices. While artificial nails have become very popular they pose a significant risk to patients. Surgical personnel who scrub while wearing artificial nails are putting their patients at higher risk for post-surgical wound infection. Artificial nails harbour microbes and cannot be cleaned as effectively as short, natural nails. We cannot rely on surgical gloves to always contain these hand organisms. There are reported cases where artificial nails have been the cause of post-surgical infections and even death. OR personnel who scrub should not wear artificial nails.