What’s Wrong With This Picture Infection Prevention and Control: Interventional Radiology Procedures
This project was a concerted effort, on behalf of the great multidisciplinary team, in the Interventional Radiology Department of Valley Regional Hospital, in Kentville, Nova Scotia.
A Change in Culture • Change is inevitable and constant in health care settings. • Schmidt (2011) insists that “during the past decade, physicians have begun to perform an increasing number of interventional procedures in various locations outside the traditional OR” (p. 353).
• Interventional procedures have become more invasive and higher risk. • Interventional suites have become perioperative care centers (Kirschner, Orlowski, and Deyo, 2009; Schmidt, 2011).
• Kirschner, Orlowski, and Deyo (2009) define perioperative centers as “those areas where patients undergo operative and other invasive procedures” (p. 43). • “Invasive is defined as any technique that allows entry into the body by an incision or puncture. Hence, all interventional procedures, regardless of the modality or area where they are performed (including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, etc.), are perioperative centers” Kirschner, Orlowski, & Deyo, 2009, p. 43).
ORNAC Standards • These are standards used for perioperative Registered Nursing practice. • They are used in all operating rooms in our country.
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.4 Personal clothing (i.e., long sleeve undershirt) that cannot be completely covered by surgical attire should not be worn.
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.4 Rationale – There is a potential to contaminate the procedural environment with “outside” organisms.
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.9 All hair shall be completely confined by a clean hood or hat.
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.9 Rationale – Shedding of squamous cells and hair has been shown to affect surgical wound infection; therefore, complete coverage is necessary.
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.11 All jewellery shall be removed before entering the semi‐restricted and restricted areas.
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.11 Rationale – Rings harbour microorganisms and could result in a glove tear. Several studies have demonstrated that skin underneath rings is more heavily colonized than skin on fingers without rings. Necklaces and earrings may fall on the outside of the sterile scrub gown into the sterile field or wound. Necklaces also increase desquamation.
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
Scrubbing : Practice 2.16.9 The scrub nurse’s [tech’s] gown shall be opened on a separate sterile field away from the back table and operative area.
Scrubbing : Practice 2.16.9 Rationale – Reduces the chance of contamination of the back table.
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
Gloving: Practice 2.18.2 The closed‐ gloving method shall be used during set‐up.
Gloving: Practice 2.18.2 Rationale – Risk of contamination is significantly reduced when hands are covered during gloving.
What’s Wrong with this picture?
Gloving: Practice 2.18.8 The recommended procedure for changing a glove during a procedure is as follows;
Gloving: Practice 2.18.8 ‐the non‐sterile person The correct method for The closed‐glove (wearing appropriate re‐gloving is for one method shall not be PPE/gloves) removes member of the sterile used for re‐gloving the glove touching only team to glove the other. the glove, not the gown unless both the
gown and gloves are ‐The gown cuff shall changed. remain at the wrist level.
Gloving: Practice 2.18.8 Rationale – Because the cuffs collect moisture, become damp during wear, and are considered unsterile, the closed‐ gloving technique can be used only for initial gloving.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Establishing the Sterile Field: Practice 2.20.3 Only the working surface of a draped area shall be considered sterile.
Establishing the Sterile Field: Practice 2.20.3 Rationale – The drape below the working surface is not under direct vision of the surgical team and is not considered sterile. The table top serves as a demarcation line between sterile and non‐sterile.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Dispensing Sterile Supplies: Practice 2.21.12 When a bottle of sterile solution is opened, the contents of the bottle shall be dispensed and the remainder discarded.
Dispensing Sterile Supplies: Practice 2.21.12 Rationale – Re‐application of sterile caps is a questionable technique as the pour spout and cap may have been contaminated. The edge of a container is considered contaminated after the contents have been poured; therefore, the sterility of the contents cannot be ensured if the cap is replaced.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.2 Unsterile persons shall not reach over the sterile field.
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.2 Rationale – Invisible shedding of skin laden with microorganisms may contaminate the field.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.4 Sterile persons shall not reach over unsterile areas.
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.4 Rationale – Contamination of the sterile gown or gloves may occur.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.8 The sterile set‐up shall not be covered.
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.8 Rationale – Removing a table cover without contaminating the sterile area cannot be done because the drape below the level of the tabletop is considered contaminated, and the cover would touch the sterile tabletop during removal.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.21.8 Peel‐packages shall be opened carefully to prevent tearing the package. The sterile boundary of a peel‐open package is the inner edge.
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.21.8 Rationale – Only the inner border of the heat seal is considered sterile. Torn packages are considered unsterile.
What’s Wrong With This Picture?
Draping: Practice 2.36.9 Surgical huck towels shall not be used as drapes
Draping: Practice 2.36.9 Rationale – Although huck towels may be used to absorb fluids, they have no barrier properties. Their use would compromise the sterile field.
Other Valuable Practices
General Practices: Practice 2.6.6 • Positioning equipment components should be stored within a cupboard with a door. • Rationale – Bioburden may be increased by microbial laden aerosols and dust may land on the components that are stored in open areas.
Intraoperative Cleaning: Practice 2.8.2 • Equipment leaving the [procedure] room shall first be wiped down with a hospital approved disinfectant prior to being stored. • Rationale – Prevent cross contamination.
Dress Code: Practice 2.15.13 • Masks shall not hang around the neck or be stored in pockets. • Rationale – The filter portion of a surgical mask harbors bacteria collected from the nasopharyngeal airway. The mask may cross‐ contaminate the surgical attire.
• Masks shall be removed by handling ties only and discarded. Hands should be washed. • Rationale – Used masks contain a large number of microorganisms, which are transferred to the hands during inappropriate handling.
Dress Code: Practice 2.18.11
• At the completion of the case, the gown is removed first, turning the gown inside out and discarding carefully. Gloves are removed last using the glove‐to‐glove and skin‐to‐skin technique.
Maintaining the sterile Field: Practice 2.22.1 • Opened sterile supplies/set‐up shall not be left unattended. They shall be continuously monitored for possible contamination. • Rationale – Sterility of unattended items cannot be ensured without direct supervision. Event‐ related sources of possible contamination can occur at any time. These include personnel, airborne contaminants, liquids and insects.
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.3 • Unsterile health care team members shall remain at least 30cm (1 ft.) from the sterile field. They should not pass between sterile fields. • Rationale – Protection of the sterile field is enhanced by limited activity and direct vision.
Maintaining the Sterile Field: Practice 2.22.5 • Sterile persons shall stay within the sterile field. Sterile persons shall not walk around or go outside the operating [procedure] room. • Rationale – Contamination of the sterile gown or gloves may occur.
Skin Preparation: Practice 2.35.3 • Hair shall not be removed unless it will interfere with access to the operative area or fall into the wound. • Rationale – Hair removal can traumatize skin and provides an opportunity for colonization of microorganisms at the incision site.
Skin Preparation: Practice 2.35.7 • Prep solutions shall not be warmed unless recommended by the manufacturer. • Rationale – Heat may change the chemical properties and efficacy of the antiseptic agent.
Draping: Practice 2.36.10 • A drape shall not be adjusted once it is placed. • Rationale – Shifting or moving the drape may transport bacteria from an unprepared area of the patient’s skin into the surgical field.
Team Excellence in Diagnostic Imaging at Valley Regional Hospital
References • Infection prevention and control. In: The ORNAC Standards for Perioperative Registered Nursing Practice.(11th ed.).ORNAC, Inc; 2013: 83‐137. • Kirschner, R., Orlowski, T., & Deyo, K. (2009). Meeting OR standards in the evolving interventional procedure room and cardiac catheterization laboratory. Journal of Radiology Nursing, 28, 430‐450. • Schmidt, T. (2011). Changing culture in interventional areas to promote patient safety. AORN Journal, 93, 352‐357.