RT Journal
A1 Seropian R, Reynolds BM
T1 THe importance of airborne contamination as a factor in postoperative wound infection
JF Archives of Surgery
JO Archives of Surgery
YR 1969
FD May 1
VO 98
IS 5
SP 654
OP 658
DO 10.1001/archsurg.1969.01340110146021
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archsurg.1969.01340110146021
AB Among the factors involved in postoperative wound infection, the effect of airborne contamination in the operating room has been considered of major importance, and substantial efforts have been directed toward minimizing its influence.1-10 A unique situation created by an affiliation between two hospitals with identical surgical staff but with markedly different operating room designs provided an opportunity to assess this influence.Figure 1 shows the floor plan of the self-contained isolated operating room (OR) suite of Misericordia Hospital, a recently built 340-bed voluntary institution. The suite has an independent temperature-humidity control unit. Extraneous traffic is not admitted, and each operating room has an adjacent scrub area. Figure 2 shows the operating suite at Fordham Hospital, a 420-bed municipal institution built in 1907. The shaded area indicates public corridors. The elevators and staircases shown open directly on the OR corridor and are the only such facilities for general use. All