Clean and green: saving water in the operating theatre.

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Karlheinz JehleShaun Matthews

Abstract

There is a growing trend to use alcohol-based hand disinfectants in clinical practice. In addition to their anti-bacterial efficacy, these disinfectants offer an alternative to traditional surgical hand disinfection agents that can save water in the operating theatre. The amounts of water and soap used during traditional surgical hand disinfection with antiseptic soap preparations were measured and water usage over a 1-year period was estimated. Costs of traditional disinfection agents were compared with alcohol-based agents. One surgical hand disinfection episode with traditional agents used 18.5 l of water. During 15,500 procedures performed at our institution over a 1-year period, 931,938 l of water were used which could have been saved had alcohol-based agents been used. Cost per episode of hand disinfection depends on the amounts used and is not higher compared to traditional agents. The benefits of using an alcohol-based surgical hand disinfectant may include significant water savings, in addition to previously published advantages of improved efficacy. When deciding on the method of surgical hand disinfection, careful thought should be given to the use of water as a resource. Surgeons should be aware of the environmental...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 1, 2009·The Journal of Hospital Infection·A F WidmerD Pittet
Apr 23, 2016·Current Problems in Surgery·Anna WeissDaniel Klaristenfeld
May 13, 2014·Journal of Health Services Research & Policy·Forbes McGain, Chris Naylor
Aug 23, 2018·Waste Management & Research : the Journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA·Kerstin H WyssusekAndré A J van Zundert
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Jul 9, 2011·Veterinary Surgery : VS·Denis VerwilghenGünter Kampf
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Aug 18, 2020·Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Global Open·Ciara Brown, Clifton Meals
Mar 14, 2021·The British Journal of Surgery·J AldooriJ MacFie
Aug 5, 2021·Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety·Samantha Wu, Elizabeth Cerceo
Sep 30, 2021·New Zealand Veterinary Journal·K R Crosse
Aug 17, 2020·British Journal of Anaesthesia·Forbes McGainJodi D Sherman

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