BACTERIAL DISPERSAL DURING ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY: HOW MUCH IS DISPERSED?

probably growing 1 . In the UK, orthopaedic surgery is routinely performed beneath an ultraclean (UC) canopy designed to remove bacteria dispersed, mainly by the operating team. The ultra clean canopy is designed to direct air away from the patient/scrub team toward the peripheral areas of the theatre suite. Numerous trays of sterile instruments may be used during orthopaedic surgery, making it difficult to position the operating table, surgical team, and trays of instruments under the canopy. Consequently, they are located outside the canopy and possibly uncovered. A previous study showed that bacterial fallout was greater when instrument trays were opened in the and 65 outside. The mean count per plate was 0.25 cfu inside, and 1.32 cfu outside of the canopy. This difference was highly significant (p = <0.0001; Mann-Whitney U test). Growth was detected on 52% (range 1 - 7 cfu) of the plates positioned outside of the canopy compared with 7% (range 1 - 9 cfu) of those positioned inside the canopy.