Defining the anesthesia provider’s role in pathogen dispersion

Editor's Note

Double gloving by anesthesia providers was associated with less spread of oral inoculum to the workstation but was not uniformly protective in this simulation study.

Between-case cleaning was found to be ineffective in removing contaminants, indicating that biologic material from one patient may still be present for subsequent patients.

These findings suggest that risks for a current patient (eg, skin or oral site transfer of pathogens to an IV site) also may place future patients at risk.

Using models that simulate clinical events can inform clinical practice and decipher challenging areas of ergonomics, the authors say.