PREOPERATIVE HAIR REMOVAL - A CASE-REPORT WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

Preoperative hair removal has been a practice since the beginning of t his century. Research in the 1970s and 1980s provide support for the c ontention that the procedure is unnecessary for wound asepsis and may increase the rate of surgical site infections (Seropian & Reynolds, 19 71; Hamilton et al., 1977; Cruse & Foord, 1980; Court-Brown, 1981; Ale xander et al., 1983; Winfield, 1986; Fairclough et al., 1987). However , some hospitals have continued routine preoperative hair removal long after dissemination of recommendations against it. This begs the ques tion, 'Why is it that so often research findings are not applied in pr actice'. In Stroud v. General Hospital Corp. and Pollett (1993), a man died of sepsis resulting from cuts he gave himself after he was asked by a nurse, in complete violation of the hospital's preoperative skin preparation protocol, to clip hair from his abdomen. The court held t he hospital liable for the nurse's negligent breach of its protocol. T he case clearly supports findings in the literature that preoperative hair removal is potentially dangerous. It reinforces the importance of strict adherence to hospital protocols which have been put in place t o protect patients' safety.