Surgical Hazard Control

Abstract

Codes and guidelines for the construction and equipping of operating rooms are provided by a variety of organizations and standard-setting groups. Among these groups are national safety organizations, committees of various interests in the building industry, and a number of federal agencies. These guidelines and suggestions are helpful in operating room hazard control, but are occasionally contradictory. Current designs of surgical suites generally follow a variant of four basic configurations with permutations, among them: (1) single corridor, (2) clean core, (3) cluster, and (4) peripheral corridor. Practical results of a number of tests are applicable to the design of patient transfer areas, materials handling, avoidance of cross-contamination between patients, air-handling systems and cabinetry.