Weekly terminal cleaning is recommended to maintain low airborne bacterial counts in operating rooms.

Terminal clean veterinary ORs at least every 10 days, ideally weekly, to maintain safe airborne bacterial levels.

This observational study evaluated airborne microbial contamination in small animal veterinary operating rooms (ORs) to determine optimal terminal cleaning frequency. Using agar settle plates exposed for 60 minutes during 192 surgical procedures over two years, researchers measured the Index of Microbial Air contamination (IMA) in a veterinary teaching hospital. The median IMA was 4.3, well below the published OR benchmark of 25 IMA, with a median terminal cleaning interval of 48 hours. Univariable linear regression demonstrated that increasing time since terminal cleaning was significantly associated with rising air contamination, with bacterial counts increasing by approximately 1.04 IMA for every 10-hour delay in cleaning. Total number of personnel in the OR also showed a significant positive association with IMA. Procedure classification, number of scrubbed personnel, and postoperative surgical site infection rates were not significantly associated with IMA in exploratory analyses. The authors recommend terminal cleaning at minimum every 10 days to keep IMA below the 25-unit threshold, while weekly terminal cleaning is advocated as best practice to maintain low airborne bacterial counts. Settle plates were validated as a practical and cost-effective air hygiene monitoring tool. This study provides veterinary-specific data supporting structured terminal cleaning protocols, highlighting time elapsed since last cleaning and personnel numbers as modifiable factors influencing OR air quality.

This summary was distilled by AI and may occasionally misinterpret data. Confirm critical details with the primary literature before clinical application.