World’s oldest medical journal publishes AHS surgeon’s handwashing how-to video

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It’s a easy resolution that may forestall an entire lot of problems: pre-op handwashing by surgeons.

Statistically, between two and 5 per cent of all sufferers endure what’s known as a surgical website an infection. It’s one thing Alberta Well being Providers surgeon Dr. Rachel Khadaroo has a higher hand in now that the New England Journal of Drugs has printed an eight-minute video she created on the topic.

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Khadaroo turns into the primary clinician within the province to have such a video included within the academic catalogue of the 200-year-old NEJM, the world’s main and longest-running medical journal.

“This accomplishment underscores the truth that, right here in Alberta, we now have many gifted and pioneering clinicians whose experience is revered and sought out by friends around the globe,” Dr. Oscar Larios with AHS an infection prevention and management mentioned in a information launch. “On this case, Dr. Khadaroo’s ardour and experience for correct preoperative surgical hand hygiene could be shared with different surgical groups to attenuate the danger of surgical infections” throughout the globe.

The video, titled Water-Based mostly and Waterless Surgical Scrub Strategies, was submitted to the NEJM in 2021 and was printed in September 2023, becoming a member of about 100 others within the journal’s on-line library.

“Beginning every thing proper on the scrub sink is de facto step one in stopping surgical infections for our sufferers,” Khadaroo mentioned.

A surgical an infection will increase the size of a hospital keep by a median of 11 days, resulting in 60 per cent extra time spent in intensive care models. About 400,000 surgical procedures are carried out in Alberta yearly.

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Some infections could be superficial involving solely the pores and skin, whereas others could be extra critical and will contain deep tissue, organs, or implanted materials. Whereas most could be handled with antibiotics, further surgical procedure or procedures could typically be required, based on AHS.

“This isn’t a brand new idea — sterile surgical hand preparation,” Khadaroo mentioned. “By utilizing a novel method to instructing, the significance of the act is significantly strengthened by way of video by displaying the nuanced motion of steps required. It permits for a dependable instructing supply that can be utilized worldwide, significantly in growing nations or smaller hospitals that will not have nurse educators.”