title: Implementing AORN recommended practices for prevention of retained surgical items.
abstract: Retention of a surgical item is a preventable event that can result in patient injury. AORN's "Recommended practices for prevention of retained surgical items" emphasizes the importance of using a multidisciplinary approach for prevention. Procedures should include counts of soft goods, needles, miscellaneous items, and instruments, and efforts should be made to prevent retention of fragments of broken devices. If a count discrepancy occurs, the perioperative team should follow procedures to locate the missing item. Perioperative leaders may consider the use of adjunct technologies such as bar-code scanning, radio-frequency detection, and radio-frequency identification. Ambulatory and hospital patient scenarios are included to exemplify appropriate strategies for preventing retained surgical items.
authors.affiliation: The William W. Backus Hospital, Norwich, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Judith L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Feldman
mesh_terms: D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013527:Perioperative Nursing / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000451:nursing* / Q000592:standards; D015503:Surgical Sponges