Keeping The Operating Patient Safe By Accounting For All Items Used During Surgery
Most surgical patients dont know that before their operation begins, a laborious process called an instrument count is down. This procedure includes counting each piece of sterile equipment that will be used during the procedure. The count must be done by a registered nurse and the sterile nurse or scrub nurse. (In some jurisdictions, a scrub nurse can be unlicensed personnel called a scrub technician.)
As each tray of instruments is opened unto the sterile field, the two nurses will compare the contents with a paper sheet which comes with the tray. Each and every piece within the tray will be counted.
All sterile supplies are counted. This includes sponges, which are usually wrapped together in groups of five or ten. Sponges can be large gauze bundles, or 4X 8 rectangles of gauze. Also, small gauze pieces which are bound together into a peanut shape and called peanuts are counted. Larger balls of cotton stuffed gauze pillows are counted. Sutures are counted and divided by types. Needles without sutures, or free needles, are counted separately. All of these supplies are...
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