Population Health Statement and PICOT statement

Part B: Literature Review (Population Health Statement and PICOT Statement) Name Institutional Affiliation Part B: Literature Review (Population Health Statement and PICOT Statement) 1.0 Introduction The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) projects that more than half a million people who do various duties in the operating room (OR) are exposed to surgical smoke annually (Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 2019). The majority of these professionals are perioperative nurses. The other healthcare workers who are at a high risk of prolonged exposure to surgical smoke/plume include anesthesiologists, nurses, and surgeons. Evidence indicates that surgical smoke contains a high number of toxic substances that can cause serious health complications in the long term. Among the materials contained in the plume include toxic gases, small particles, and pathogens. Considering the high number of perioperative staff who are exposed to the risk of surgical plume exposure, this review aims to explore the importance of installing effective surgical smoke evacuators in hospitals and surgery centers. 2.0 Methods 2.1 Databases and Search Terms The literature search utilized several databases to find articles relevant to the PICOT statement. The main databases with scholarly publications were MEDLINE Ovid, PubMed, and Cochrane. Also, Google scholar was a source of additional studies that were conducted between 2007 and 2019. Supplementary sources of information included surgical textbooks and non-governmental agencies such as the Association of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN). The process of literature search applied a combination of the following key terms: surgical smoke, diathermy, plume, smoke evacuation, perioperative, operating room, staff education, hazards, and chemical composition. 2.2 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria Using the search terms stated above, the databases generated a total of 100 potential articles which were sorted using a criterion. Studies included in the final review had to meet the following requirements: Were peer reviewed published between 2007 and 2019. Studied the effects of surgical smoke on the health of surgical staff. Contained original and comprehensive data. Focused on the importance of surgical smoke evacuators in the OR. Articles that were not peer-reviewed or lacked original data relevant to the PICOT question were excluded from the final review. In the final analysis, five articles were chosen and their findings synthesized to satisfy the objective of the PICOT statement. 3.0 Synthesis of Literature 3.1 Part A: Components of Each Article Based on the published evidence that surgical smoke could cause irritation of the lungs, eyes, and skin, Sisler et al (2018) collected surgical smoke in real time during the coagulation and cutting of tissues of human breasts. After measuring the concentration and distribution of airborne particulate matter in the collected plume, the researchers then determined the quantity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that had dissolved in cell culture medium containing epithelial cells of the human airway and mouse macrophages. The results showed that the surgical smoke induced lactate dehydrogenase and cytotoxicity in both cell types (Sisler et al...