Derry, K. H., Sicat, C. S., Shen, M., Davidovitch, R. I., Schwarzkopf, R., & Rozell, J. C. (2023). Role of Operating Room Size on Air Quality in Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty. The Journal of Arthroplasty.
Surgical site infections (SSIs) remain an issue, and orthopedic SSIs are particularly problematic. This summary of two studies looks at the evaluation of temperature, humidity, and airborne biologic particle counts per minute in two ORs, one small and one large, in the same medical center. Particulate counts were used as a proxy since airborne particles have been linked to bacterial concentrations that can lead to SSIs. In both studies, there were significant decreases in particles of certain sizes in the large OR compared to the small OR. The study suggests that other factors being “assumed” equal, OR size alone might be a contributing factor to SSIs. The two studies document literal diffusion of particles in more volume, and along with other things we know about OR design, highlight the importance of diffusion of knowledge as we learn more about specific topics through a variety of studies.