Journal of Hospital Infection: Forced-Air Warming An Infection-Control "Hazard" in Implant Surgery

StopSurgicalInfections.org recently submitted a press release regarding a review article published by Journal of Hospital Infection.  The press release is as follows:

Surgical-infection experts have unambiguously concluded that forced-air warming “...does contaminate ultra-clean air ventilation….” in the operating room. Their advice: Use air-free warming during implant surgery.

PRLog - Nov. 12, 2014 - MINNEAPOLIS -- “Infection Control Hazards Associated with the Use of Forced-air Warming in Operating Theatres," appears in the scientific publication of the Healthcare Infection Society, Journal of Hospital Infection. The article, in press, can be found on-line at www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701%2814%2900245-X/abstract?showall=true=

The authors, including surgeon D.L. Leaper, chair of the committee that drafted the UK’s surgical-site infection guidelines, summarized the findings of 10 peer-reviewed, published studies regarding the infection risks of forced-air warming.  Their conclusions:

• No studies have shown that forced-air warming (“FAW”) reduces surgical infections—other than in colorectal surgery.
• In implant surgery, even minor contamination of the operative field can be catastrophic.
• FAW devices contaminate the operative field.

Patient Advocate Warns Against Forced-Air Warming

A well-known patient advocate now urges surgical patients to avoid forced-air warming—even to change hospitals if necessary.

The advocate, Rosie Bartel, speaks from experience. Infected with MRSA during a knee-replacement procedure at a hospital using forced-air warming, Bartel has undergone 27 subsequent operations— including amputation of her leg to the hip. The MRSA remains active.

After researching how the pathogens rose from the floor of the operating room into the sterile field, Bartel concluded that Bair Hugger warming blew particles into her wound, causing the MRSA infection. 

Bartel has a website (www.RosiesDream.com) to share her findings and give her advice to patients. Click on the video below. She has some powerful things to say.

A former educator, Bartel works closely with Partnership for Patients and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. She will be co-chair of IHI’s national conference this year.

Infection Risk from Forced-air Warming Considered; Study on Bacterial Contamination Recommended

International Orthopedic Consensus 

“We recognize the theoretical risk posed by forced air warming blankets,” concluded the Consensus Statement recently released by the International Consensus on Periprosthetic Joint Infection.  While not urging a change in practice, the Consensus Statement recommended that further studies be undertaken regarding the safety of forced-air warming (“FAW”) in orthopedic implant surgery.
Delegates from more than 50 countries and 80 different societies met in August 2013 to evaluate scientific literature and identify areas for further research.  Among the other conclusions relating to periprosthetic joint infections and the risk of airborne contamination:
 
1. Airborne particulate bacteria are a major source of contamination in the operating room.  The number of airborne bacteria around the wound is correlated to the incidence of periprosthetic joint infections.  Bacteria “circulate through the operating room via air currents.”

“Legg et al,” the Consensus Statement noted, “found increased particles above the surgical site when using FAW compared to radiant warming.” To be precise, the Legg study, published in Bone & Joint Journal, found 2,000 times more contaminant particles in the air over the wound with Bair Hugger forced-air warming than with air-free HotDog conductive warming.  With HotDog patient warming, only 1,000 particles per cubic meter of air were present. With Bair Hugger warming, the particle count was 2,174,000 per cubic meter, an increase of 217,300%.

Recent A & A study: “These findings warrant future research into the effects of forced air warming…during contamination-sensitive surgery.”

August 2013
 
Research in the August edition of Anesthesia & Analgesia, a publication of the International Anesthesia Research Society, and appearing under the name of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation stated:

 “[F]orced air warming was found to establish convection currents that mobilized resident air from nonsterile areas (under the anesthesia drape) upward and into the surgical site.”

The clinical concern, according to the article, is that the convection currents created by Bair Hugger will mobilize contaminants and/or impede the ventilation systems’ ability to clear contaminants from the surgical site.  The concerns, they stated, “are most relevant for smaller airborne particles…such as free-floating bacteria and skin cell fragments.”

The study compared the impact of Bair Hugger warming with air-free HotDog conductive fabric warming.  No convective currents were detected when HotDog warming was applied.  In explanation, the scientists stated:

 “Because conductive blankets (like HotDog) are localized in their application, they tend to have higher thermal efficiencies and contribute less excess heat to the environment than forced air.”

In contrast, Bair Hugger “was found to have a significant disruptive impact on clean airflow patterns over the surgical site….”

Video Evidence of the Vortex Caused by the Radiant Waste Heat from FAW Blankets

The video clip below is an excerpt from a nurse education course.  It shows the vortex-effect caused by the radiant waste heat from forced-air patient warming (FAW) blankets, similar to what was recently studied and published by orthopedic surgeons A.J. Legg and A.J.Hamer.

The Legg and Hamer study, published in the Bone & Joint Journal in March 2013, is different than the four previous studies examining the unintended consequence of FAW.  Studies by Belani, Dasari, McGovern and a previous study by Legg all showed the mass effect of waste heat forming thermals under the drapes and rising from the floor to the surgical field.  The latest study is unique because it shows that the radiant heat travels through the drapes, interacts with the downward flow of air from the ceiling ventilation, and forms vortices that suck contaminated air from the floor.  Legg and Hamer discovered 2,000x more contaminant particles at the surgical site when FAW was used than when air-free HotDog patient warming was used.

This is especially concerning in orthopedic surgery, where airborne contaminants can cause devastating deep-joint infections.

As you’re watching the short video clip, notice the tight-spinning vortex captured by orthopedic surgeons in Northumbria, UK, towards the end.

Study: Contamination Increased 2000x With Bair Hugger Warming

Minneapolis, MN: March 14, 2013— The use of Bair Hugger forced-air warmers during surgery creates convection currents that capture particles below the surgical table, lifting them into the sterile surgical field, according to research recently published by orthopedic surgeons. The waste heat radiating through the surgical drape induced the formation of tornado-like vortexes of rapidly spinning air near the surgical site. The vortexes sucked contaminated air from the operating room floor and deposited it over the surgical wound. 

2,000 times more contaminant particles were found in the air over the wound with Bair Hugger warming than with air-free HotDog conductive warming. With HotDog patient warming, only 1,000 particles per cubic meter of air were present. With Bair Hugger warming, the particle count was 2,174,000 per cubic meter, an increase of 217,300% 

Concerned by convection currents produced by hot-air warming devices, orthopedic surgeons A.J. Legg and A.J. Hamer from Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, United Kingdom, compared the torso-style disposable blankets of 3M’s Bair Hugger system with the reusable, air-free HotDog conductive warming system. The surgeons released particles below the surgical table and then measured how many were transported to the surgical site. Neither surgeon has any financial relationship with either of the products studied. 

The study was published in the February issue of The Bone and Joint Journal and entitled “Forced-air patient warming blankets disrupt unidirectional airflow.” 

Dr. Scott Augustine, inventor of both products studied, stated, “Such a massive increase in airborne contamination is obviously a safety issue in contamination-sensitive surgeries. In joint replacement surgery, for example, a single airborne bacterium can cause a deep joint infection.” 

Periprosethetic joint infections are often catastrophic: immense pain and suffering, permanent disability and an enormous cost to the hospital. 

“Every joint infection is a disaster—both for the patient and the system,” said Dr. Augustine. “The process is horrific: ex-plant the joint, prolonged hospitalization, 6-8 weeks of IV antibiotics and then—assuming no amputation—re-implant the joint. The average cost is around $100,000.” More than 12,000 of these infections occur each year in the US, a rate that some see as a significant public health problem.

Study Links Forced-air Warming to Infections: 3.8x Increase In Orthopedic Implant Cases

Previously, research studying the effects of forced-air warming on laminar flow operating theaters was limited to contamination…until now.

The use of forced-air warming during orthopedic implant surgery was associated with a 3.8 times increase in deep joint infections as compared to warming patients without forced-air, according to a newly published study.