This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (25)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

WILLIAM R. COLE, MD; HARVEY R. BERNARD, MD

AMA Arch Surg. 1964;89(1):215-222.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The source of bacterial contamination leading to infection of clean operative wounds has long been a point of discussion among surgeons. Although many possible sources of contamination have been identified, the significance of each has been difficult to assess because of a wide variability in host resistance and bacterial virulence.

The epidemiology of this problem has been under study in our laboratories for several years. These studies have shown that organisms which cause infections in clean operative wounds are seldom found in the air of the operating room¹ or in the noses and throats of personnel. Relatively small numbers of these organisms ordinarily gain access to clean surgical wounds through the air providing the operating room is relatively clean and accepted masking techniques are used.² These bacteria, however, are found in large numbers in the hospitalized patients who harbor an established infection¹ and in an occasional carrier. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
ST. LOUIS

From the Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Hospital.

Footnotes
Read before the 21st Annual Meeting of the Central Surgical Association, Rochester, Minn, Feb 27-29, 1964.

Aided by a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?