Increased Duration and Frequency of Lateral C-Arm Draping Does Not Increase Contamination Rates.

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Infection Control
• Surgical Technology

Background:

• Maintaining surgical field sterility is crucial during orthopaedic procedures.
• Intra-operative fluoroscopy is frequently used for lower extremity fracture surgeries.
• Drape contamination is a potential risk factor for surgical site infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify culture-positive drape contamination rates using the clip-drape technique.
• To assess the impact of drape manipulation and duration on contamination.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the clip-drape technique in preventing contamination during fluoroscopy.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of 30 patients undergoing surgery for lower extremity fractures.
• Clip-drape technique used to cover the fluoroscopy emitter.
• Bacterial growth assessed via swab samples collected from drapes.
• Statistical comparison using a t-test.

Main Results:

• 10% of operations (3 out of 30) showed evidence of drape contamination.
• No statistically significant difference in contamination rates related to drape manipulation frequency or duration.
• No surgical site infections observed within 90 days post-surgery.

Conclusions:

• The clip-drape technique is effective in maintaining surgical field sterility during lateral fluoroscopy.
• Drape contamination is not significantly influenced by the number of manipulations or duration of use.
• The technique appears safe and effective for preventing infection in fracture surgeries.