Physical Environment and Safety Standards Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering operating room layouts, physical environment standards, equipment, and safety regulations from Chapter 4.

Racetrack plan

A surgical department design involving a series of operating rooms situated around a clean central core.

Hotel plan

A surgical department design variation in which operating rooms are situated along a central corridor with separate clean core and soiled work areas, with all traffic entering and exiting through a single entrance.

Specialty grouping plan

A surgical department design variation in which operating rooms are grouped by specialty, each with its own closely associated clean storage areas.

Unrestricted areas

Regions near the entrance of the surgery department where street clothes are permitted, including offices, dressing rooms, preoperative holding, PACU, and the control desk.

Preoperative holding area

The designated area in the surgical department where the patient is prepared for surgery, intravenous lines and monitoring devices are placed, and preoperative assessments are conducted.

Postanesthesia care unit (PACU)

The room where patients are transported postoperatively to recover from surgery and anesthesia before being admitted to a nursing unit or discharged.

Semi-restricted areas

Areas of the surgical department where surgical scrub suits, head covers, and shoe covers are mandatory, such as storage rooms, corridors, decontamination, and instrument rooms.

Restricted areas

Surgical areas requiring full OR attire including scrub suits, head covers, shoe covers, and surgical masks; includes operating room suites, substerile rooms, and sterile storage rooms.

Substerile room

A workroom located adjacent to an operating room or group of operating rooms containing a sink and an autoclave steam sterilizer for immediate use steam sterilization (IUSS) of instrumentation.

High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters

The CDC-recommended filter of choice used in operating room ventilation systems to reduce airborne contamination.

Laminar airflow

A unidirectional positive pressure air flow system that keeps air pressure higher in the operating room suite than in surrounding corridors to prevent external airborne bacteria from entering.

Manometer

An instrument used to measure the difference of air pressure between two rooms.

Hygrometer

An instrument used to measure relative humidity.

Surgical boom

An articulating arm mounted from the ceiling that holds equipment shelving and various outlets such as camera boxes, light sources, gas, and electrical outlets.

Breakpoints

Bendable areas on an operating room table located at the knee, waist, and head sections.

Back table

A large table on which a back table pack is placed and opened to create a main sterile field for arranging sterile instruments, equipment, and supplies.

Mayo stand

A small, height-adjustable stand moved directly up to the operative field across the patient to hold surgical instruments used most frequently during a procedure.

Ring stand

A four-wheeled metal stand with one or two rings at the top used to hold sterile basins containing irrigation solutions or sterile water.

Kick bucket

A low, wheeled metal bucket lined with a biohazard bag used strictly for discarding soiled, counted surgical sponges.

Prep stand

A smaller table or Mayo stand on wheels used to hold skin preparation supplies close to the patient.

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)

A chemical compound composed of a liquid and powder mixture commonly known as bone cement, used for cementing metal prostheses during total joint arthroplasties.

Bone cement implantation syndrome

A pathology associated with PMMA expansion and intramedullary hypertension during joint arthroplasty, characterized by microembolization, hypotension, hypoxia, cardiac arrhythmias, or cardiac arrest.

PASS

A mnemonic representing the steps for operating a fire extinguisher: Pull the pin, Aim the nozzle, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep side-to-side.

RACE

An acronym representing the surgical team fire safety response protocol: Remove and rescue, Alert and sound alarm, Contain the fire, and Extinguish and evacuate.

Laser

An acronym for light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation, referring to the process and device producing concentrated light energy.

Optical density (OD)

The ability of a protective eyewear lens to absorb a specific wavelength of laser light.

Neutral zone

A designated sharps-only area on the sterile field agreed upon by the surgical team for transferring sharp instruments without hand-to-hand contact.

Standard Precautions

Infection control techniques defined by the CDC in 1996 requiring all body fluids (except sweat) to be treated as potentially infectious regardless of source.

Surgical plume

Vaporized tissue smoke containing water, carbonized particles, offensive odors, and potentially infectious DNA strands generated during laser or electrosurgical cautery.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

A federal organization dedicated to protecting worker health and safety by establishing legally enforceable workplace standards.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

A research-oriented arm of the CDC under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that establishes permissible exposure limits (PELs) for chemical vapors and gases.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

An organization of industry experts that promotes and facilitates voluntary consensus standards in technical fields, such as laser safety and relative humidity ranges.

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)

An organization that establishes standards across healthcare, including sterilization, electrical safety, device safety, and tray weight limits.

National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA)

An organization whose mission is to reduce fire frequency through the establishment of fire prevention standards, research, and public safety education.