Noisy operations associated with increased infections after surgery

Patients who undergo surgery are more likely to suffer surgical site infections (SSIs) if the operating theatre is noisy. Swiss researchers studied 35 patients who underwent planned, major abdominal surgery, exploring demographic parameters, the duration of the operation and sound levels in the theatre. Six of the patients (17 per cent) developed SSIs and the only variable was the noise level in the operating theatre, which was considerably higher in the infected patients.

Read the whole article on Science Daily

More from Science Daily