Project description:BACKGROUND:Newborns delivered by C-section acquire human skin microbes just after birth, but the sources remain unknown. We hypothesized that the operating room (OR) environment contains human skin bacteria that could be seeding C-section born infants. RESULTS:To test this hypothesis, we sampled 11 sites in four operating rooms from three hospitals in two cities. Following a C-section procedure, we swabbed OR floors, walls, ventilation grids, armrests, and lamps. We sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene of 44 samples using Illumina MiSeq platform. Sequences were analyzed using the QIIME pipeline. Only 68 % of the samples (30/44, >1000 sequences per site) yielded sufficient DNA reads to be analyzed. The bacterial content of OR dust corresponded to human skin bacteria, with dominance of Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium. Diversity of bacteria was the highest in the ventilation grids and walls but was also present on top of the surgery lamps. Beta diversity analyses showed OR dust bacterial content clustering first by city and then by hospital (t test using unweighted UniFrac distances, p?<?0.05). CONCLUSIONS:We conclude that the dust from ORs, collected right after a C-section procedure, contains deposits of human skin bacteria. The OR microbiota is the first environment for C-section newborns, and OR microbes might be seeding the microbiome in these babies. Further studies are required to identify how this OR microbiome exposure contributes to the seeding of the neonatal microbiome. The results might be relevant to infant health, if the current increase in risk of immune and metabolic diseases in industrialized societies is related to lack of natural exposure to the vaginal microbiome during labor and birth.
Project description:mRNA expression was assayed from bronchial epithelial cell samples from smokers with and without lung cancer. A subset of the samples (2 of the lung cancer samples and 3 of the no cancer samples) were pooled and underwent whole transcriptome sequencing. The goals were to compare whole transcriptome sequencing gene expression levels to gene expression levels derived from these samples run on the Affymetrix HGU133A 2.0 platform. Current and former smokers with cancer (n=8) and without cancer (n=5) undergoing flexible bronchoscopy in the operating room for resection of a suspicious lung nodule at Boston University Medical Center were recruited. Patients were classified as having no lung cancer based on the pathological results from the lung biopsy. Patients with no cancer were diagnosed with alternative benign diseases of the chest including organizing pneumonitis, sarcoidosis and chronic inflammation due to foreign body material.
Project description:Due to the anatomic complexity of the head and neck and variable proximity between laboratory and operating room (OR), effective communication during frozen section analysis (FSA) between surgeons and pathologists is challenging. This proof-of-concept study investigates an augmented reality (AR) protocol that allows pathologists to virtually join the OR from the laboratory. Head and neck cancer specimens were scanned ex vivo using a 3-dimensional scanner and uploaded into an AR platform. Eight head and neck specimens were discussed by surgeons and pathologists in an AR environment. AR-guided intraoperative consultation was used for specimen orientation and discussion of FSA margin sampling sites. One patient had positive initial margins on FSA and was re-resected to negative final margins. AR-guided FSA is possible and allows pathologists to join the operating from any location for intraoperative discussion.
Project description:IntroductionOperating room (OR) fire can be a devastating and costly event to patients and health care providers. Prevention and effective management of such fires may present difficulties even for experienced OR staff.MethodsThis simulation involved a 52-year-old man presenting for excisional biopsy of a cervical lymph node to be performed under sedation. Participants were expected to identify and manage both contained and uncontained fires resulting from ignition by electrosurgical cautery. We conducted weekly multidisciplinary simulations in the mock OR at Massachusetts General Hospital. Participants included surgery and anesthesiology residents, certified registered nurse anesthetists, registered nurses, and surgical technicians. Participants were unaware of the scenario content. Each 90-minute session was divided into three parts: an orientation (10 minutes), the case with rapid cycle debriefing (65 minutes), and a final debriefing with course evaluations (15 minutes). Equipment consisted of a simulation OR with general surgery supplies, general anesthesia equipment, a high-fidelity Laerdal SimMan 3G simulator, a code cart, a defibrillator, dry ice for smoke effects, and a projector with a fire image.ResultsFrom April to June 2015, 86 participants completed this simulation. Participants reported that the simulation scenario was realistic (80%), was relevant to their clinical practice (93%), changed their practice (82%), and promoted teamwork (80%).DiscussionPrevention and management of OR fire require collaboration and prompt coordination between anesthesiologists, surgeons, and nurses. This simulation case scenario was implemented to train multidisciplinary learners in the identification and crisis management of such an event.
| S-EPMC7012309 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The Microbial Geography of the operating room