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Risks of bacterial contamination inside operating theatres and inpatient halls
2025-02-10
Assistant Instructor Areej Hamad Hassan
Upper Euphrates Center for Sustainable Development Research / University of Anbar
Bacterial infections that occur to the wounds of the operations that occur to the patient after surgeries in the hospital are one of the health problems, and this percentage is different from one hospital to another and these infections may occur immediately after the operation or several days after the operation, and occur as a result of weakness or malfunction in the immune system or because of diseases that the patient suffers from previously or as a result of taking medicines such as steroids, as well as antibiotic resistance may be the cause of the spread of bacteria and wound infection and these Bacteria can be present and spread inside the operating room, it has been found that about 10% of infections can lead to death as a result of complications of infection, it is known that the number of bacteria inside the operating room does not exceed 35 bacterial cells within an area not exceeding (3) m2.
Among the most important types of bacteria that are spread and that have been isolated from the operating room rooms, which can cause pathogenic inflammatory convulsions if they contaminate the wounds during surgeries inside the operating room, are: (Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Shigella sp, Salmonella sp, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonus sp, Aeromonus sp).
Despite the many preparations and preparations before surgeries and preventive treatment with antibiotics and alcohol, wound infections are one of the main complications prominent after surgeries, and the sources of infection of surgeries are either internal sources or external sources, pollution inside the operating rooms from not fogging the walls of the operating rooms within appropriate periods of time, as well as not using disinfectants and sterilizers in appropriate concentrations before and after surgeries, and the use of surgical tools that are not sterilized properly, and not purifying rooms Air operations, and lack of hand hygiene causes microbial contamination of operations wounds, it is known that the risk of surgical infection is related to the patient and the surgical process and the extent of sterilization of the operating room and medical staff, hence the study urged awareness and health education for hospital workers and operating rooms, and the provision of sterile tools, and the use of appropriate concentrations of disinfectants, to sterilize and treat bacteria carriers from the medical staff so that they are not a source of infection because of their direct relationship with patients.
Causes of infection:
1- The increase in the number of patients in one lying room before and after surgeries leads to an increase in the percentage of bacterial contamination as a result of internal or external factors, external factors concern the hospital environment and internal factors concern patients, as these reasons can provide the appropriate atmosphere for the spread of these germs into the halls or lobbies in which they lie, as we note that the increase in the number of inpatients has an impact on increasing pollution of the hospital floors, especially the operating halls.
2- As for surgical beds, they can also be contaminated with germs, as some types of bacteria have been isolated from the operating table that are in contact with the patient's body, although the patient wears sterile clothes, especially at the time of the operation, before lying on the bed.
3- According to the location of the operation to be performed in the patient's body, for example, in the operations that are performed in the area of urinary tract infection, this site is originally home to the settlement of pathological germs, and this site differs if the operation was performed to remove the thyroid glands, from here the place of the wound has a major role in the spread of bacteria.
4- The patient's immunity has a major role in the extent of resistance of the person who has been operated on against infections with pathological bacteria after the operation.
Recommendations to prevent pollution:
1- Washing hands while wearing gloves.
2- Disinfecting the patient's skin site where the surgery will be performed.
3- Maintaining sterilization of the elements used during the surgery, such as: (medicines, fluids, and devices), by preventing exposure to non-sterile surfaces, and not to reuse it if it is single-use until after sterilization again.
4- Dusting and sterilizing the walls and floors of operating room rooms during appropriate periods of time or when contamination occurs, it is necessary to perform such a procedure.
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