{"title":"Aseptic protocol breaches are common among veterinary students scrubbing, gowning, and gloving into surgery.","authors":"Karly M Souders, Stanley E Kim","doi":"10.2460/ajvr.25.01.0006","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess the frequency of aseptic protocol breaches (APBs) among veterinary students scrubbing, gowning, and gloving into surgery and identify factors that may be associated with APBs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was an observational cross-sectional study. Students on clinical rotations at an academic small animal teaching hospital from May to July 2023 in the services of Orthopedic, Soft Tissue, Oncologic, and Neurologic Surgery were observed while scrubbing, gowning, and gloving into surgery, and APBs and donning times were recorded. Stage of rotation (early vs late), service type, duration of donning surgical attire, and previous surgical experience were also recorded. The χ2 and points biserial tests were used to assess for associations between APBs and the aforementioned factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At least 1 APB was noted in 45 (46.3%) of the 96 procedures observed. The most common mistakes noted were contact of the sterile towel onto nonsterile surfaces (17.7%), contact of the gown with nonsterile surfaces (17.7%), touching sterile objects with bare hands (12.5%), and improper scrubbing technique (17.4%). There was no association between APBs and service type, previous scrub experience, or stage of rotation. Those who made an APB had longer gowning and gloving times, 4.60 (1.40) minutes, than those who did not make an APB, 3.71 (0.91) minutes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings demonstrate that APBs are common among veterinary students and highlight reasons for contamination during scrubbing, gloving, and gowning.</p><p><strong>Clinical relevance: </strong>The data may be used to help improve asepsis protocols.</p>","PeriodicalId":7754,"journal":{"name":"American journal of veterinary research","volume":" ","pages":"1-5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American journal of veterinary research","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.25.01.0006","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"VETERINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: To assess the frequency of aseptic protocol breaches (APBs) among veterinary students scrubbing, gowning, and gloving into surgery and identify factors that may be associated with APBs.
Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study. Students on clinical rotations at an academic small animal teaching hospital from May to July 2023 in the services of Orthopedic, Soft Tissue, Oncologic, and Neurologic Surgery were observed while scrubbing, gowning, and gloving into surgery, and APBs and donning times were recorded. Stage of rotation (early vs late), service type, duration of donning surgical attire, and previous surgical experience were also recorded. The χ2 and points biserial tests were used to assess for associations between APBs and the aforementioned factors.
Results: At least 1 APB was noted in 45 (46.3%) of the 96 procedures observed. The most common mistakes noted were contact of the sterile towel onto nonsterile surfaces (17.7%), contact of the gown with nonsterile surfaces (17.7%), touching sterile objects with bare hands (12.5%), and improper scrubbing technique (17.4%). There was no association between APBs and service type, previous scrub experience, or stage of rotation. Those who made an APB had longer gowning and gloving times, 4.60 (1.40) minutes, than those who did not make an APB, 3.71 (0.91) minutes.
Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that APBs are common among veterinary students and highlight reasons for contamination during scrubbing, gloving, and gowning.
Clinical relevance: The data may be used to help improve asepsis protocols.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Veterinary Research supports the collaborative exchange of information between researchers and clinicians by publishing novel research findings that bridge the gulf between basic research and clinical practice or that help to translate laboratory research and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials and clinical practice. The journal welcomes submission of high-quality original studies and review articles in a wide range of scientific fields, including anatomy, anesthesiology, animal welfare, behavior, epidemiology, genetics, heredity, infectious disease, molecular biology, oncology, pharmacology, pathogenic mechanisms, physiology, surgery, theriogenology, toxicology, and vaccinology. Species of interest include production animals, companion animals, equids, exotic animals, birds, reptiles, and wild and marine animals. Reports of laboratory animal studies and studies involving the use of animals as experimental models of human diseases are considered only when the study results are of demonstrable benefit to the species used in the research or to another species of veterinary interest. Other fields of interest or animals species are not necessarily excluded from consideration, but such reports must focus on novel research findings. Submitted papers must make an original and substantial contribution to the veterinary medicine knowledge base; preliminary studies are not appropriate.