“TcAF installation reduces risk for SSI – 3% to 1% in large study”
(b) Clemens Bulitta, Sergeii Vasiuk, Yaroslav Vasylchyshyn, Volodymyr Vasyuk, Regina Guttenberger, and Sebastian Buhl (2020)
Microbiological burden of room-air in operating theatres is a known risk factor for surgical site infections. However, it is unclear how to best evaluate efficacy and efficiency under routine clinical conditions. Moreover, there still is a lack of data to assess the impact on infection rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate a temperature-controlled ventilation system (TcAF) under routine clinical conditions and assess its impact on infection rates. 10 clinical installations of the TcAF system Opragon (Avidicare AB, Sweden) were assessed during live surgeries according to the Swedish SIS TS 39: 2015 standard.
The study shows positive impact on key clinical outcome parameters in line with previous research by Charnley and Lidwell.
(a) S. Vasiuk, Y. Vasylchyshyn, V. Vasyuk, C. Bulitta (2019)
The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of operating room ventilation technology on clinical outcome parameter.
The method was based on a retrospective analysis of 1,000 consecutive cases of primary total joint arthroplasty (hip, knee) before and 1,000 consecutive cases after the installation of an ultraclean airflow ventilation system (temperature controlled Airflow TcAF System Opragon AB, Avidicare Sweden), in the same operating room was performed. Clinical outcome was evaluated using length of stay and infection rates as endpoints. The proper function of the TcAF system was checked by intraoperative measurement using active air sampling (blood agar plates, Klotz Impactor FH6).
The results illutrated that the intraoperative airborne contamination was always below 5 cfu/m3 of air, which is the threshold demanded according to the Swedish SIS standard for ultraclean air in operating theatres demonstrating proper function of the system. Ultraclean air provided by the TcAF system was associated with a decrease in mean postoperative hospital stay from 11.0 to 8.64 days, a decrease in percentage of patients who stayed inpatient over 14 days after surgery from 7.3 to 2.2%, and a decrease of infectious complications from 3.3 to 1.1%.
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An extensive list of all scientific literature – in total 45 pieces – that supports Opragon is available on request using the download button below.
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