Case Studies
Case Study #1:
The clinic where Litty, a cleaner, works has a policy of fumigating a room following a septic procedure and to fumigate each procedure room once a month. Litty pours formaldehyde into a large dish-type container and places it in the middle of the room. She then closes all windows and doors to the room and the room remains shut for 24 hours. It is then aerated and used again.
Is fumigation an appropriate practice? Why?
Case Study #2:
During a vaginal surgical procedure, blood trickles down the speculum handle and puddles on the floor. The surgeon asks the circulator to wait until the end of the procedure to clean it up, since more blood will drip, but the circulator insists on cleaning the spill immediately.
Is it appropriate to wait until the end of the surgery to clean the spills? Why?
Case Study #3:
When sisters Janet and Alice were hired to clean a local maternity hospital they were only told to clean the floors of the hospital and the operating theaters daily. Every day they sweep the floors with straw brooms and then dust and sweep the surgical theaters. If an operating theater was not used the day before, they did not bother to clean it again. No one said anything about their cleaning habits so they thought they were doing a good job.
Did the sisters practice appropriate cleaning methods? Why?
Case Study #4:
Hospital X has only one operating theater, which is very busy on weekdays. The head surgeon requires the staff to mop the floor and clean the walls, fixtures, and countertops with a glutaraldehyde solution once a week to sterilize them. This regimen usually requires many liters of glutaraldehyde each week.
Is this practice appropriate? Why or why not?
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