Swedish operating room nurses’ preventive
interventions to reduce bacterial growth
and surgical site infections, and to increase
comfort in patients undergoing surgery
CAMILLA WISTRAND
Medical Science with specialisation in Healthcare Sciences
Örebro Studies in Care Sciences 73 I
ÖREBRO 20172017
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camilla wistrand has been a registered nurse since
1998 and a registered operating room (OR) nurse since 2007, working in the Department of Vascular and Thoracic Surgery at Örebro University Hospital. In addition to her work as an OR nurse, she began PhD studies in 2011 at the University of Örebro. Her main tutor is Professor Ulrica Nilsson.
Clinical work at the OR departments is designed to have a high hygiene stan-dard to prevent bacterial contamination of the wound and thereby prevent surgical site infections (SSIs). SSIs are a major problem, causing both suffering for patients and high costs for society. The general aim of this thesis was to test and describe interventions performed by OR nurses to increase patient comfort, prevent bacterial growth, and reduce SSIs. Studies were focused spe-cifically on preheated skin disinfection, patient thermal comfort, and specific OR nurses’ preventive interventions such as preparation of the patients’ skin, patient temperature, and OR materials.
issn 1652-1153 isbn 978-91-7529-213-7
