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X marks the spot: Sharpies get thumbs-up for marking surgery sites
October 22, 2008A bit of good news out of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta for patients undergoing surgery or an invasive procedure, their surgeons and cost-conscious hospital administrators. It's standard practice for the surgeon or their designate, (in consultation with the patient when possible), to mark the operative/invasive site using a marking pen before an operation, a precaution to ensure surgeons cut the correct spot. But there was concern that germs would be spread from one patient to the next, so it has also become common procedure to throw away the marker each time, costing thousands of dollars a year.
Turns out hospital staff were putting too fine a point on it, say a couple of infection control specialists at the U of A who looked into the matter. Associate professor Dr. Sarah Forgie of the Department of Pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases resident Dr. Catherine Burton have shown that the tips of the Sharpies® don't spread infection since the ink has an alcohol base.
This has caught the attention of organizers of a major conference on infectious disease taking place in Washington, D.C., at the end of October. They have invited Burton to share her work with other disease control specialists from around the world, an honour for the resident.
After asking around and finding out that many of the surgical teams in Edmonton liked using Sharpie® brand markers, Forgie and Burton decided to put the common, everyday brand to the test along with another brand, the second one a sterile marker specifically intended for single use in operating rooms.
In a controlled experiment, marker tips were heavily contaminated with four types of bacteria that can cause surgical site infections; two of the germ types are of particular concern in hospitals since they are antibiotic-resistant, Burton explained.
After recapping the markers and letting them sit for 24 hours, Burton and Forgie found that the sterile, one-use marker, which has a non-alcohol-base ink, was still contaminated. But the Sharpies® were not.
In collecting an extremely large number of germs on the markers during their experiment, "we went much further than what would happen in real life," said Forgie.
She is confident that the marking tip of Sharpies® does not pose a risk of bacterial transmission. As long as the rest of the pen is cleaned with an alcohol swab between patients (just as is done with stethoscopes), the Sharpies® do not need to be discarded after each use. Safety is the priority, and in this case it can be done economically, Forgie said.
University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
After asking around and finding out that many of the surgical teams in Edmonton liked using Sharpie® brand markers, Forgie and Burton decided to put the common, everyday brand to the test along with another brand, the second one a sterile marker specifically intended for single use in operating rooms.
In a controlled experiment, marker tips were heavily contaminated with four types of bacteria that can cause surgical site infections; two of the germ types are of particular concern in hospitals since they are antibiotic-resistant, Burton explained.
After recapping the markers and letting them sit for 24 hours, Burton and Forgie found that the sterile, one-use marker, which has a non-alcohol-base ink, was still contaminated. But the Sharpies® were not.
In collecting an extremely large number of germs on the markers during their experiment, "we went much further than what would happen in real life," said Forgie.
She is confident that the marking tip of Sharpies® does not pose a risk of bacterial transmission. As long as the rest of the pen is cleaned with an alcohol swab between patients (just as is done with stethoscopes), the Sharpies® do not need to be discarded after each use. Safety is the priority, and in this case it can be done economically, Forgie said.
University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
Surgery Current Events and Surgery News RSSBurnout and mental distress strongly related to errors by US surgeons
Major medical errors self-reported by American surgeons are strongly related to both burnout and depression. Those findings appear today in the online edition of Annals of Surgery. The Mayo Clinic-led study included collaborators from Johns Hopkins and the American College of Surgeons.
Other Illnesses, Body Weight Do Not Explain Racial Disparities in Colon Cancer Survival, UAB Researchers Say
A new study by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers shows that body-mass index (BMI) and co-existing medical conditions (co-morbidity) do not explain the decreased survival observed among African-Americans compared to Caucasians who also have colon cancer.
Diabetes surgery summit consensus lays foundation for new field of medicine
A first-of-its-kind consensus statement on diabetes surgery is published online today in the Annals of Surgery.
New tool for helping pediatric heart surgery
A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Stanford University has developed a way to simulate blood flow on the computer to optimize surgical designs.
Rare pancreatic cancer patients may live longer when treated with radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is effective in achieving local control and palliation in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNTs), despite such tumors being commonly considered resistant to radiation therapy.
Johns Hopkins researchers track down protein responsible for chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps
A protein known to stimulate blood vessel growth has now been found to be responsible for the cell overgrowth in the development of polyps that characterize one of the most severe forms of sinusitis, a study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests.
Reflux esophagitis due to immune reaction, not acute acid burn, UT Southwestern researchers report
Contrary to current thinking, a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) might not develop as a direct result of acidic digestive juices burning the esophagus, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in an animal study.
Surgery not linked to memory problems in older patients
For years, it has been widely assumed that older adults may experience memory loss and other cognitive problems following surgery. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis questions those assumptions.
Engineer designs micro-endoscope to seek out early signs of cancer
Traditional endoscopes provide a peek inside patients' bodies. Now, a University of Florida engineering researcher is designing ones capable of a full inspection.
Patient's weight not linked to success of fibroid surgery
Obese patients are no more likely to have post-operative complications than those of average weight when undergoing robotic surgery to remove uterine fibroids, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital.
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