title: Treating patients with smallpox in the operating room.
abstract: Recent events around the world have emphasized the need for health care facilities to prepare to deal with biological threats, including smallpox. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, administrators recognized the need for a policy on handling patients with smallpox in the OR and asked a group of students to create a template policy for care of patients with smallpox in need of surgery. This article provides a brief history of smallpox, concerns surrounding smallpox today, and smallpox characteristics with which perioperative personnel should be familiar, as well as a guideline for treating patients in the OR who have smallpox.
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beasley
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kenenally
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mickel
authors.forename: Kija
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Korowicki
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arundell
authors.forename: Wylie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005060:Europe; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D009873:Operating Rooms / Q000592:standards*; D013527:Perioperative Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012899:Smallpox / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative; D014481:United States