A study published online in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research compares orthopaedic operating room (OR) surfaces contaminated with bioburden. 

The research team used adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence technology to determine the degree of contamination of 13 surfaces in six orthopaedic ORs that had been cleaned and prepped for surgery, but prior to patients entering the room. They found that all tested surfaces had bioburden. Surfaces with the greatest bioburden included (in descending order) the right side of the OR table headboard, computer keyboard, tourniquet machine buttons, Bair Hugger™ buttons, Bovie machine buttons, and patient positioners used for total hip and spine positioning. The research team writes that the study did not examine correlation between ATP bioluminescence and clinical infection. Learn more...