A bacteriologically occlusive clothing system for use in the operating room

Area of Science:

• Surgical Infection Prevention
• Operating Room Ventilation Systems
• Medical Textile Performance

Background:

• Traditional surgical gowns may not offer optimal bacterial containment.
• Operating room (OR) ventilation is critical for reducing airborne contaminants.
• Comfort and convenience of surgical attire impact healthcare professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the bacterial shedding of disposable surgical clothing (Fabric 450) versus total-body exhaust gowns.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of different OR ventilation systems (downflow vs. crossflow) in conjunction with surgical attire.
• To assess the comfort and convenience of the disposable clothing system.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study conducted in a laminar-flow operating room during total hip replacement surgeries.
• Airborne bacterial counts were measured for both clothing systems under downflow and crossflow ventilation.
• Dispersal chamber tests were performed to evaluate bacterial reduction effectiveness of disposable clothing items.

Main Results:

• Identical average airborne bacterial counts (0.7/m³) were observed with both systems under downflow ventilation.
• No significant difference in bacterial counts between systems under crossflow ventilation (2.2/m³ vs. 3.1/m³).
• Disposable clothing system demonstrated relative ineffectiveness in reducing bacterial dispersion compared to a complete system.

Conclusions:

• Disposable surgical clothing provides equivalent bacterial control to exhaust gowns in specific OR ventilation setups.
• Downflow ventilation is significantly more effective than crossflow ventilation in minimizing bacterial dispersion.
• The complete disposable clothing system, not just the gown, is crucial for bacterial containment; ventilation choice is paramount.