Summary
Surgical site infections (SSIs) are one of the main sources of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which is a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
While multiple causes of SSIs have been identified, one key source of wound contamination is surgical smoke, which can contain live viruses and bacteria as well as toxic chemicals, particulates and contaminated body fluid in the form of blood and dispersed vapor. Plume serves as a transfer vehicle for these pathogens.
A team of bacteriology experts at Biotest Laboratories, Inc. in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, undertook a project to discover if effective smoke capture and evacuation could limit local dispersal and aerosolization of bacteria. The researchers used porcine tissue embedded with viable bacteria (Serratia marcescens) to determine the extent of viable bacteria present in surgical plume. They developed protocols, performed experiments and tabulated results for three separate experiments. Their tests showed that plume from blended current electrosurgery contained viable bacteria and that placing a suction device near the electrosurgical site reduced the number of aerosolised viable bacteria.
The study confirmed that effective smoke capture prevents bacteria in smoke from being aerosolised and significantly reduces contamination of a simulated surgical wound, in this case by as much as 50% to 60% compared to control.
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