[Evaluation of practices involving a cross infection risk in anaesthesia]

The practice of anaesthesiology has the potential for transmitting a number of infectious agents to the patient. In France, several recent cases have been identified, so that a wide survey on anaesthesiology practice has been enhanced.

An anonymous questionnaire, based on the recommendations of the French Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (Sfar), was send to 8,771 anaesthesiologists and intensive care practitioners and to 2,070 nurses practicing anaesthesiology.

A total of 1,343 questionnaires were analyzed (response rate of 12.4%). The study shows that some recommendations were routinely applied, such as: availability of alcohol-based hand hygiene solution in operating rooms (94%), use of antimicrobial filters for respiratory circuits (99%), use of single-use laryngoscope blades (77%), aseptic technique for central venous catheterization (99%), hand hygiene after contact with body fluids (96%). In contrast, the study showed that some recommendations were partially applied: hand hygiene practice (52%), wear of gloves when a risk of blood exposure exists (23%), cleaning of reusable laryngoscope blades (19%), and incorrect wear of masks (71%). The reuse of the same syringe for several patients was described in 2% of the responses.

This results, similar to those previously described in the literature, must be followed by appropriate training and education of anaesthesia personnel, implementation of the recommendations, and evaluation of practices. Reuse of the same syringe for several patients have to be eradicated because of the high risk of viral transmission.