Role of Surgical Mask in Preventing Infection of Wounds - Essay Example

Introduction This paper consists of an attempt to formulate a research question on the arena of “Use of surgical face masks in operation theatre”. In order to gain insight into the necessity of implementing or doing away with the use of face masks, it is imperative to carry out a research in the direction and then establish results. This paper thus aims at refining the research question keeping the above framework in mind. Area of Interest The need to ensure protective environment in and around operative theatres led to the analysis of the various sterile equipments and technologies that can be brought in. Most of the hospitals around the world insured that the sterile techniques and the slandered precautions technique will be followed especially in the operation rooms. Moreover, they used the surgical face mask among the sterile gowns and gloves to ensure the controlling of infection in the theatres room. Most of the studies showed that there are unclear benefits or harms from wearing the surgical face mask during the operation procedures. Because of that, this paper is going to try to argue the benefits of the surgical face mask in operation room from infection control point of view (Lipp & Edwards 2009).This topic is very interesting because of most of the medical teams follow the standard precaution techniques without knowing why they are following it and sometimes they argue the reasons that they being told or they would be depending on old research. So, this essay is going to clarify the effectiveness of using the surgical face mask in operation rooms during the procedures. During the search for articles for this topic, some insufficient research about this topic was found. Due to that, I have chosen this topic (Lipp & Edwards 2009). Literature Review A plethora of researches and studies conducted already such as Orr (1981), McLure (1998), Alwitry et. Al. (2002), and Mitchell and Hunt (1991) etc. indicate towards the increasing dilemma on the effectiveness of surgical face masks as a means to prevent infection in surgical zones. It was established by most such researches that on one hand where wearing face masks do not lead to a reduction in the microbes or bacteria count in the air and other similar afflictions; not wearing the face masks on the other hand also do not produce results of increased infection rate. Further, this leads to questioning the effectiveness of surgical face masks in operation theatres. In other words, study on not wearing face masks could not conclusively prove that it increases incidence of wound infection. Framing the Research Question Based on the various evidence and otherwise research studies, it will be interesting to deduce the whether surgical face masks should be made mandatory in operation theatres or should they be avoided. Hence, in this paper we intend to clarify whether the advantages reaped from implementation of face masks justify the cost incurred in the same or not. In view of the same, the following is the details of the search conducted: Search engine Key words Number of hits MedlinePlus Cost, face mask, surgery 13 MedlinePlus Cost effectiveness, face mask, surgery 6 MedlinePlus Cost effectiveness, surgical face mask 4 MedlinePlus implementation of surgical face masks and cost effectiveness 1 In order to clarify the statement indicated in the previous paragraph, the research question formulated initially is ‘What are the cost implications of face masks in surgery?’The first question was probed in the MedlinePlus search engine using the keywords ‘Cost, face mask, surgery’. It produced 13 results which indicated that the thought pattern of the question was unique and although it has been explored earlier, not a very extensive research on the comparison of the two has been exactly done. Modifying the above question due to the relatively large number of results obtained, the following research question might be proposed ‘To analyze the cost implications of face masks in surgery’. The results obtained from the MedlinePlus search engine were quite positive indicating only 6 hits. Although the number of hits was encouraging enough, it was intriguing to check whether a replacement of face masks in surgery with surgical face masks would produce different results. With the usage of the key words ‘Cost effectiveness, surgical face mask’, a return of 4 hits indicated mote or less equal response. A final attempt at paraphrasing the research question led to ‘Is the implementation of surgical face masks cost effective?’ This question was again searched in the MedlinePlus search engine through the keywords ‘implementation of surgical face masks and cost effectiveness’ which gave 1 hit. This provided the confidence that the research question was fresh enough to be explored. Final Research Question Thus, the research question to be proposed in this assignment: ‘Is the implementation of surgical face masks cost effective?’ The intention behind probing this concept is to identify whether the use and advantages of using these masks during surgery provide enough justification towards the costs incurred in implementing the same. It has been noted in certain evidence based studies such as Lipp & Edwards 2005, p. 33 that there is no evidence of any benefit or harm to the patient who is going to have a surgery. On similar lines, a study by Mitchell and Hunt (1991) argued that face masks are a costly alternative as compared to their necessity in the surgeries. This study compared the bacteria dispersal in the two cases of wearing and non-wearing of such masks. As against a very minute quantity of microbes in the air due to respiration process of those not wearing masks, a lot more contamination due to the moving and talking of those wearing mask was noted. Thus, it may now be inferred that as against the real necessity of face masks during surgery, the cost involved in the setup of such facility may prove to be slightly unbalanced and hence, the need to probe the research question. Conclusion In this paper, I have tried to discuss the various nuances of surgical face masks’ effectiveness while operating on wound infection in theatres which is the area of interest of the present study undertaken. Wide ranging literatures were analysed and reviewed to provide an insight into the topic of interest. It has been observed that most of the medical teams follow the standard precaution techniques without knowing why they are following it and sometimes they argue the reasons that they being told or they would be depending on old research Further in the paper, a research question has been formulated to carry out a research on an area within this topic of interest which has not been explored popularly previously. Such an indication was received from the trade off discussion between the cost of implementation of face mask and the benefits accrued due to these masks during operations. A search engine called Medline Plus was used to which helped us find out that our proposed research question has not been widely researched but has been superficially touched upon. The results of the research modified have been presented in a tabulated format for easy identification. A brief discussion on the finally refined research question draws the conclusive base of this paper. References Alwitry, A, Jackson, E, Chen, H & Holden, R 2002, 'The use of surgical facemasks during cataract surgery it necessary?', British Journal of Ophthalmology, vol.86, pp.975-977, viewed 4 September 2009, (electronic National Library of Medicine/PubMed). Lipp, A, Edwards, P 2009, 'Disposable surgical face masks for preventing surgical wound infection in clean surgery', Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, viewed 4 September 2009, (online Wiley Interscience/Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) Lipp, A, Edwards, P 2005, 'Disposable surgical face masks: A Systematic Review', Canadian Operating Room Nursing Journal, vol.23, no.3, viewed 4 September 2009 (online OVID/CINAHL). McLure, HA, Talboys, CA, Yentis, SM & Azadian, BS 1998, 'Surgical face masks and downward dispersal of bacteria', Anaesthesia, vol.53, pp.624-626, viewed 4 September 2009, (electronic National Library of Medicine/PubMed). Mitchell, NJ & Hunt, S 1991, 'Surgical face masks in modern operating rooms—a costly and unnecessary ritual?', Journal of Hospital Infection, vol.18, viewed 4 September 2009, (online Elsevier/Science Direct). Orr, NW 1981, 'Is a mask necessary in the operating theatre?', Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, vol.63, pp. 390-392, viewed 4 September 2009, (electronic National Library of Medicine/PubMed). Tunevall, MD 1991, 'Postoperative Wound Infection and Surgical Face Masks: A Controlled Study', World Journal of Surgery, vol.15, viewed 4 September 2009, (online Elsevier/Science Direct). Read More