The potential for increased risk of infection due to the reuse of convective air-warming/cooling coverlets

Background: The use of convective air warming and/or cooling for the preven tion of hypothermia or to induce hypothermia is growing rapidly. To date, t here is no information available as to the potential risks for infection as sociated with either the postsurgical reuse or the repositioning of coverle ts closer to the wound. We hypothesized that use of coverlets either intra- or postoperatively leads to increased contamination. Methods: The bacterial contamination of commercially available coverlets be fore (control group, n=10) and after patient application (n=18) was investi gated. From 3 predetermined sites, 1 cmx2 cm pieces of coverlet were remove d and analyzed for bacterial contamination. Results: Even prior to use, coverlet samplings provided identifiable contam ination (3 out of 30 sites, 10%), but this could be within our study's samp ling error. Nevertheless, following clinical use the frequency of contamina tion was considerably increased; 17 out of 57 sampled sites (31.5%) elicite d contamination (P<0.05, Fisher's exact test). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the use of the coverlets, intra- o r postoperatively, can lead to significant bacterial contamination. It is c oncluded that it is not advisable to reuse coverlets for multiple clinical applications.