Tip the Hat: Does A Superior Cloth Surgeons Cap Really
Exist?
Volume 2 - Issue 2
Jason Nealy MD* and Michael Salehpour MD
Received: February 18, 2019; Published: February 25, 2019
DOI: 10.32474/SCSOAJ.2019.02.000135
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Background
The efficacy of operating room headwear has been in debate
for several years as governing organizations, including the Joint
Commission, CDC, and the Association of Perioperative Registered
Nurses, have published guidelines without clear evidence in
support of these practices. In the 2016 edition of the Association
of Perioperative Registered Nurses Procedure Manual all operating
room personnel are to wear disposable bouffant-style hats. Several
studies have suggested that hair is a vehicle for bacterial dispersal,
however, there has been no definitive evidence that connects
bacteria in the hair to surgical site infections. In November, 2017
an article was published in the Journal of the American College of
Surgeons entitled “Hats Off: A Study of Different Operating Room
Headgear Assessed by Environmental Quality Indicators.” Though
this study has demanded criticism by those in control of OR policy,
it is not without validity.
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