PREVENTION OF INFECTION IN OBSTETRIC AND GYNECOLOGICAL ULTRASOUND PRACTICE

The observations of Semmelweis on prevention of puerperal fever are no w deeply entrenched into medical practice and doctors should appreciat e the importance of practicing good infection control procedures, in p articular, that of routinely washing their hands before and after dire ct patient contact, after contact with patients' blood or other body s ecretions and after removal of gloves. The AIDS epidemic has refocused medical attention on the importance of appropriate aseptic techniques and universal blood and body fluid precautions. The risks of cross-in fection associated with medical procedures have become a highly emotiv e public health issue in Australia since the report that four women be came HIV-positive following simple surgical procedures in a doctor's o ffice, and in the USA where it was documented that transmission of HIV from a health-care worker to a patient occurred in a dental practice in Florida(1,2). In this environment, it is surprising to see in the l iterature the dearth of attention to prevention of cross-infection ass ociated with ultrasound examinations and ultrasound-guided procedures. In addition, it seems surprising that, in ultrasound practice, many o perators neither practice rigorous cleaning of transducers between pat ients nor wash their hands prior to and following an examination, and, furthermore, operators commonly have a minimalist approach to aseptic technique for interventional procedures.