JCAHO alert targets surgical fire dangers
Ambulatory Safety Monitor, June 25, 2003
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The JCAHO warned against hazards that can cause surgical fires in a June 24 sentinal event alert. The accrediting body cited the dangers of carelessly using common, yet potentially flammable elements during surgery.
The JCAHO estimates that surgical fires seriously injure up to 20 patients a year, and kill up to two. Using information from the Food and Drug Administration and ECRI, a health care research company, the JCAHO named electrosurgical equipment and lasers as the most common origins of surgical fires.
Included in the JCAHO's recommendations for preventing surgical fires were the following:
- Allow all flammable preps to dry fully before draping the patient for surgery
- Move electrosugical electrodes to a holster, or to another location away from the patient when it is not in use
To read the entire sentinal event alert, click here.
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