posture

Impact of staff posture on airborne particle distribution in an operating theatre equipped with ultraclean-zoned ventilation

Submitted by on Tue, 03/22/2016 - 12:14

Airborne particles released from surgical team members are major sources of surgical site infections (SSIs). To reduce SSI risk, ultraclean-zoned ventilation (UZV) systems have been widely applied, supplementary to the main operating theatre (OT) ventilation. Usually, OT ventilation performance is determined without considering the influence of staff-member posture and movements. Whether the surgeon’s posture during surgery influences particle distribution within the surgical area is not well analysed and documented.