Surgical procedures are often associated with Surgical site infections (SSIs) as a frequent complication; furthermore, it also makes one of the most common forms of hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Various National/international guidelines and recommendations describe strategies for its prevention.

A study by Lo Giudice D. et al. monitored the behavior of healthcare workers engaged in surgical procedures and thus assessed compliance with SSI guidelines.

This descriptive observational study, conducted at a University hospital in southern Italy, was specifically designed to record the actions of the surgical team during randomly selected surgical operations. It looked for the use of surgical attire, the frequency of doors opening, and the number of staff in the operating room.

The study observed 308 operating room personnel during 402 surgical procedures. Among which 127 were surgeons (41%), 39 anaesthesiologists (13%), 62 nurses (20%) and 80 students in training (26%). It found that 96% of the surgical team wore scrubs; 93% of health workers wore a mask, and of these, 78% wore it correctly to completely cover the nose, mouth, and beard (when present); 99% wore a cap (only in 48% was the hair completely covered); 50% of the operators wore gloves; 95% wore shoes dedicated to the operating theater and 23% also wore shoe covers; 56% wore gowns; and 22% put eye protection. It also found the average number of health personnel in the operating theater as 8, and the doors remained closed in 261 (65%) surgical operations.

These results indicate a low adherence to international guidelines among the personnel. Thus, training courses are crucial to increase staff awareness of the prevention and management of HAI.

Lo Giudice D, Trimarchi G, La Fauci V, Squeri R, Calimeri S. Hospital infection control and behaviour of operating room staff. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2019 Dec;27(4):292-295. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a4932. PMID: 31951688.