The effect of peroperative skin preparation on bacterial growth during cardiac surgery

Routine products are used and procedures are followed in order to prevent and minimize the bacterial contamination of the surgical wound, and thus reduce the risk of postoperative wound infections. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect of different preoperative skin preparation before cardiac surgery. In study I, 10 healthy volunteers were compared in time to recolonization of the skin and bacterial growth with or without plastic adhesive drape. Bacterial samples were taken as paired samples on both side of the sternum. Plastic drape on disinfected skin seems to hasten recolonization compared with bare skin. In study II, 135 cardiac surgery patients were comparing plastic adhesive drape versus bare skin on the chest regarding intra-operative bacterial growth. Plastic adhesive drape did not reduce the bacterial recolonization or wound contamination, P. acnes colonizes males more often than females and P. acnes is not affected by disinfection with 0.5% chlorhexidine in ethanol. Study III, compared the leg harvesting site with or without microbal skin sealant in 135 CABG patients regarding intraoperative bacterial growth and postoperative wound infection. Almost no bacterial growth was found during surgery regardless of the use of microbial skin sealant and bare skin. A high incidence of postoperative wound infections (16.8%) in 2 month follow up was present and SSI was largely caused by S. aureus, i.e. other bacterial species than observed intraoperative. Study IV, a descriptive study using phenotypic and genotypic methods investigate susceptibility to chlorhexidine among S. epidermidis indicating that S. epidermidis isolates following preoperative skin disinfection are sensitive tochlorhexidine

Promoting and maintaining skin integrity in end-of-life care : a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review recommendations for promoting and maintaining skin integrity in end-of-life care and their level of evidence. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (PubMed interface), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), EMBASE, and The Cochrane Library were systematically searched using a combination of key terms including end-of-life care, skin care, skin hygiene, and skin cleansing. STUDY SELECTION: Articles were included if they (1) described skin care recommendations, including but not limited to the use of skin care products and interventions such as cleansing procedures; and (2) included adult patients who were expected to die within 12 months. There were no restrictions on study design, study setting, or language. Articles with a publication date before 2000 were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: Two data extraction forms were developed. The first included information about the author, publication year, type of evidence, study topic, sample, sample size, setting, limitations of the study, level of evidence, and quality of the study. The second included recommendations for promoting and maintaining skin integrity in patients at the end of life. DATA SYNTHESIS: Because of methodological heterogeneity, results were synthesized narratively, and no meta-analysis was performed. CONCLUSIONS: The information contained in the recommendations will assist nurses in promoting and maintaining skin integrity in patients at the end of life. More research is needed on end-of-life skin care, with an emphasis on patient-centered, holistic strategies that improve patient well-being and quality of life. In most current research, recommendations are limited to literature reviews and level V evidence. Skin care must balance the promotion and maintenance of skin integrity, wound prevention, and management while promoting patient dignity and quality of life

Exploring bacterial growth and recolonization after preoperative hand disinfection and surgery between operating room nurses and non-health care workers: a pilot study

Abstract Background To prevent cross infection the surgical team perform preoperative hand disinfection before dressed in surgical gowns and gloves. Preoperative hand disinfection does not make hands sterile and the surgical glove cuff end has been regarded as a weak link, since it is not a liquid-proof interface. The aims were to investigate if there were differences in bacterial growth and recolonization of hands between operating room nurses and non-health care workers as well as to investigate if bacterial growth existed at the surgical glove cuff end during surgery. Methods This pilot project was conducted as an exploratory comparative clinical trial. Bacterial cultures were taken from the glove and gown interface and at three sites of the hands of 12 operating room nurses and 13 non-health care workers controls directly after preoperative hand disinfection and again after wearing surgical gloves and gowns. Colony forming units were analysed with Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Sign Ranks test comparing repeated measurements. Categorical variables were evaluated with chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. Results Operating room nurses compared to non-health care workers had significant higher bacterial growth at two of three culture sites after surgical hand disinfection. Both groups had higher recolonization at one of the three culture sites after wearing surgical gloves. There were no differences between the groups in total colony forming units, that is, all sampling sites. Five out of 12 of the operating room nurses had bacterial growth at the glove cuff end and of those, four had the same bacteria at the glove cuff end as found in the cultures from the hands. Bacteria isolated from the glove cuff were P. acnes, S. warneri, S. epidermidis and Micrococcus species, the CFU/mL ranged from 10 to 40. Conclusions There were differences in bacterial growth and re-colonization between the groups but this was inconclusive. However, bacterial growth exists at the glove cuff and gown interface, further investigation in larger study is needed, to build on these promising, but preliminary, findings. Trial registration Trial registration was performed prospectively at Research web (FOU in Sweden, 117,971) 14/01/2013, and retrospectively at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02359708). 01/27/2015

Operating room nurses experiences of skin preparation in connection with orthopaedic surgery: A focus group study

Background Preoperative skin preparation is performed differently by different operating room nurses. Aim To deepen the understanding of skin preparation within an orthopaedic surgical setting from the operating room nurse perspective and to explore their experiences. Methods A qualitative exploratory design was used. Four focus group interviews were conducted during 2016-2017, at four hospitals in Sweden, using procedures developed by Krueger and Casey. A total of 19 operating room nurses were recruited through purposive sampling. Results Statements were categorized into four categories of experiences: (1) Knowing, which related to learning and sources of knowledge; (2) Doing, which related to skin preparation and activities based on tradition and evidence; (3) The Team, which related to the assignment of responsibility and collaboration with patients and other professions; and (4) The Setting, which related to factors around the patient and included feelings of time pressure and access to supplies. Conclusions Theory and practice differ, and some skin preparation used are based on tradition rather than on evidence or recommendations. Elements both within the team in the operating room and within the organization influence the result. Operating room nurses duty to perform safe skin preparation must be respected in the team.Funding Agencies|Medical Research Council of Southeast Sweden; Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Vrinnevi Hospital; Anaesthetics, Operations and Speciality Surgery Centre, Region Ostergotland, Sweden</p

Perceptions of perioperative nursing competence: a cross-country comparison

Abstract Background Throughout many countries, professional bodies rely on yearly self-assessment of competence for ongoing registration; therefore, nursing competence is pivotal to safe clinical practice. Our aim was to describe and compare perioperative nurses’ perceptions of competence in four countries, while examining the effect of specialist education and years of experience in the operating room. Methods We conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional surveys from four countries including; Australia, Canada, Scotland, and Sweden. The 40-item Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised (PPCS-R), was used with a total sample of 768 respondents. We used a factorial design to examine the influence of country, years of experience in the operating room and specialist education on nurses’ reported perceived perioperative competence. Results Regardless of country origin, nurses with specialist qualifications reported higher perceived perioperative competence when compared to nurses without specialist education. However, cross-country differences were dependent on nurses’ number of years of experience in the operating room. Nurses from Sweden with 6–10 years of experience in the operating room reported lower perceived perioperative competence when compared to Australian nurses. In comparing nurses with > 10 years of experience, Swedish nurses reported significantly lower perceived perioperative competence when compared to nurses from Australia, Canada and Scotland. Conclusion Researchers need to consider educational level and years of experience in the perioperative context when examining constructs such as competence

Operating theatre nurse specialist competence to ensure patient safety in the operating theatre : a discursive paper

Aim To discuss specialist operating theatre nurses' competence in relation to the general six core competencies and patient safety. Design A discursive analysis of legal statutes and scientific articles. Methods Swedish legal statutes and an overview of scientific articles on operating theatre nursing were deductively analysed and classified into healthcare providers' general six core competencies. Results All healthcare professionals should possess the general core competencies, regardless of their discipline. The specific content within these competencies differs between disciplines. The specialized operating theatre nurse is the only healthcare professional having the competence to be responsible for asepsis, instrumentation, infection and complication, control and management of biological specimens during the surgical procedure. Besides operating theatre nurses, no other healthcare profession has the formal education, competence or skills to perform operating theatre nursing care in the theatre during the surgical procedure. Operating theatre nurse competence is therefore indispensable to ensure patient safety during surgery