Break Scrub to Take That Phone Call?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare-associated infections
• Microbiology
• Surgical safety

Background:

• Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a significant concern, with many being preventable.
• Surgeons sometimes use sterile towels to handle phones in the operating room, creating a potential contamination pathway.
• The transmission of bacteria from inanimate objects to sterile surgical gloves via intervening materials requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of sterile disposable operating room towels in preventing bacterial transmission.
• To determine if bacteria can transfer from telephones to surgical gloves through a sterile towel barrier.

Main Methods:

• Simulated bacterial transmission using Glo Germ powder from a surface to a gloved hand through a sterile towel.
• Culturing of 18 operating room telephones to assess bacterial load.
• Assessing bacterial transfer from telephones to sterile surgical gloves via sterile towels.

Main Results:

• Glo Germ readily transferred through sterile towels to surgical gloves in the initial test.
• Bacterial cultures showed a median of 10 colony-forming units (CFUs) on telephones.
• Significant bacterial transmission (47%) occurred from telephones to sterile gloves through towels (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Sterile disposable operating room towels are ineffective barriers against bacteria on telephones.
• This practice poses a risk of contaminating sterile surgical gloves.
• Enhanced protocols are needed to mitigate bacterial transmission during phone use in sterile environments.