Sacred cows in infection control
SSI Prevention: Evidence-Based Practices Replace Lingering “Sacred Cows’ in the OR
This report explores the prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) within the context of evidence-based practices replacing “sacred cows” in the operating room. It focuses on the critical practice of preoperative hair removal.
When Thomas Paine noted in 1776 that, “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right,” he could not have imagined that he was describing a current tug-of-war that still exists in some operating rooms today.