Measurement and Control of Surgical Smoke to Enhance Surgical Team Safety

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science Vol. 37; no. 36; p. e273
• Main Authors: Moon, Hyoun Jong, Lee, Wang Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 19.09.2022; 대한의학회
• Subjects: Brief Communication; 의학일반
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e273

Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 era, concern about the safety of surgical teams related to surgical smoke (SS) is rising. As simple ventilation improvement methods (SVIMs), we replaced 4 of the 8 supply diffusers with a direction-adjustable louver-type, closed 2 of the 4 exhaust grills, and strengthened the sealing of the doorway. Dynamic changes in the concentration of particulate matter (PM) with sizes of < 1.0 μm (PM1.0) were measured using low-cost PM meters (LCPMs) at eight locations in the operating room (OR). SS concentration up to 4 minutes at the location of the surgeon, first assistant, and scrub nurse before and after SVIMs application decreased from 65.4, 38.2, 35.7 µg/m 3 to 9.5, 0.1 and 0.7 µg/m 3 respectively. A similar decrease was observed in the other 5 locations. SVIMs could effectively control SS and the LCPM was also effective in measuring SS in the OR or other spaces of the hospital.