RP First Look: New recommended practices for surgical attire.

SURGICAL MASKS should cover the mouth and nose and be secured in a way that prevents venting at the sides of the mask. Reprinted from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Copyright© 2014, AORN, Inc. The updated “Recommended practices for surgical attire,” which will be electronically released Nov. 15, provide guidance for surgical attire, including scrub attire, shoes, jewelry, head coverings, and masks worn in semirestricted and restricted areas of the perioperative setting. In addition, the recommended practices (RP) document provides guidance for personal items (e.g., stethoscopes, backpacks, briefcases, cell phones) brought into the perioperative setting. Although research related to surgical attire is limited and no randomized controlled trials or systematic reviews show a direct causal relationship between surgical attire and surgical site infections (SSIs), increased numbers of microorganisms in the perioperative setting increase the patient’s risk of SSI. Thus, health care workers should make efforts to reduce the patient’s exposure to microorganisms by following the RP for surgical attire.