Effects of replacing saline solution during surgery for colon cancer in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections are often linked to contamination of saline solution by the patient's organs, doctors' and nurses' hands, or surgical instruments. Scrub nurses also use the saline solution to soften sutures or moisturize gauze. Therefore, we performed a randomized study of Korean clean-contaminated surgeries for colon cancer to evaluate whether replacing saline solution affected the level of contamination.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the control group (n = 26), normal saline was not replaced during surgery. In the experimental group (n = 26), normal saline and bowl were replaced after colon lesions were removed.

RESULTS: We found that replacing the saline solution during surgery significantly lowered the number of colony-forming units in the solution (t = -5.18, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, we suggest that nurses replace the saline solution after removing the contaminated organs and that this replace be performed in clinical settings in Korea.