Minimizing hair dispersal: Is this an opportunity for improvement in health care-acquired infection prevention?

•Many surveyed health care providers are not removing hair outside of the operating room.•More education is needed on the risks associated with removing hair inside the operating room.•Surgical quality and health care-acquired infection prevention can be improved by minimizing hair dispersal.•Multiple stakeholders are key to comprehensive adherence to hair removal guidelines.

We performed a study to understand common practices in surgical site hair removal and barriers to guideline compliance in surgical site hair removal. We found most health care providers in the United States do not remove hair outside of the operating room. Our findings reveal minimizing hair dispersal in the operating room, including improved and innovative ways for collecting clipped loose hair, is a significant area for improvement in surgical quality and health care-acquired infection prevention.

Graphical abstractMinimizing hair dispersal: Is this an opportunity for improvement in health care-acquired infection prevention? OR, operating room; SSH, surgical site hair.Download high-res image (69KB)Download full-size image