[Immediate decontamination. Comparative ergonomic study]

The standard procedures of decontamination between two patients were studied. As standards were chosen the OSHA's standards (Organization for Safety and Health Administration). The study was conducted by means of a "time and motion" analysis. The most important conclusions reached were: 1) it's impossible to complete the whole sequence in less than 10-15 minutes; 2) within this period one assistant didn't have any time to help the doctor at the chair; 3) consequently the doctor has to work alone for 10-15 minutes, unless a second assistant had been employed; 4) consequently, when we try to improve the decontamination, we need another assistant to make the work smoother, with a rise of the costs; 5) the systematic usage of the so called "barriers" is extremely time-wasting; 6) the only way to reduce the decontamination-time is the use of automatic devices, as the "Autosteril".