Guidelines for clothing in the operating theatre, 2021

To provide guidelines for the choice of items of clothing (except sterile surgical gown) for staff working in the operating theatre.

A committee of nine experts from SFAR and the SF2H learned societies was convened. A formal conflict-of-interest policy was developed at the beginning of the process and enforced throughout. Likewise, it did not benefit from any funding from a company marketing a health product (drug or medical device). The authors were required to follow the rules of the GRADE® method (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) to assess the quality of the evidence on which the recommendations were based.

We aimed to formulate recommendations according to the GRADE® methodology for four different fields: operating theatre suits, operating theatre hats, masks, and shoes/over-shoes. Each question was formulated according to the PICO format (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). The literature review and recommendations were formulated according to the GRADE® methodology.

The experts' synthesis work and their application of the GRADE® method resulted in 13 recommendations. As the GRADE® method could not be integrally applied to all questions, some recommendations were formulated as expert opinions.

Based on strong agreement between experts, we produced 13 recommendations to guide the choice of operating theatre attire.