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It’s a simple solution that can prevent a whole lot of complications: pre-op handwashing by surgeons.
Statistically, between two and five per cent of all patients suffer what’s referred to as a surgical site infection. It’s something Alberta Health Services surgeon Dr. Rachel Khadaroo has a greater hand in now that the New England Journal of Medicine has published an eight-minute video she created on the subject.
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Khadaroo becomes the first clinician in the province to have such a video included in the educational catalogue of the 200-year-old NEJM, the world’s leading and longest-running medical journal.
“This accomplishment underscores the fact that, here in Alberta, we have many talented and pioneering clinicians whose expertise is respected and sought out by peers around the world,” Dr. Oscar Larios with AHS infection prevention and control said in a news release. “In this case, Dr. Khadaroo’s passion and expertise for proper preoperative surgical hand hygiene can be shared with other surgical teams to minimize the risk of surgical infections” across the globe.
The video, titled Water-Based and Waterless Surgical Scrub Techniques, was submitted to the NEJM in 2021 and was published in September 2023, joining about 100 others in the journal’s online library.
“Starting everything right at the scrub sink is really the first step in preventing surgical infections for our patients,” Khadaroo said.
A surgical infection increases the length of a hospital stay by an average of 11 days, leading to 60 per cent more time spent in intensive care units. About 400,000 surgeries are performed in Alberta annually.
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Some infections can be superficial involving only the skin, while others can be more serious and may involve deep tissue, organs, or implanted material. While most can be treated with antibiotics, additional surgery or procedures may sometimes be required, according to AHS.
“This is not a new concept — sterile surgical hand preparation,” Khadaroo said. “By using a novel approach to teaching, the importance of the act is greatly strengthened through video by showing the nuanced movement of steps required. It allows for a reliable teaching source that can be used worldwide, particularly in developing countries or smaller hospitals that may not have nurse educators.”
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