ABSTRACT
Objective:
To compare the prevalence of signs and symptoms related to inhalation of surgical smoke among surgical technologists and non-surgical technologists nursing professionals.
Method:
A cross-sectional study with 46 professionals from a university hospital. To evaluate the prevalence, an instrument with signs/symptoms related to the inhalation of electrocautery smoke was used. To verify the comparison between the prevalence of signs/symptoms, the Fisher’s exact test was performed.
Results:
Higher prevalence of all signs/symptoms among surgical technologists, with a statistically significant difference between the act of instrumenting with the presence of at least one signs/symptoms related to inhalation of surgical smoke (p=0.01); eye irritation (p=0.02); irritation of nasal mucosa and oral cavity (p=0.03); headache (p=0.04).
Conclusion:
The presence of problems related to surgical smoke in nursing workers elicits more attention.
Implications for practice:
Health units must be aware of the risk of such exposure and take measures to preventing it.
Keywords:
Electrocautery; Smoke; Signs and Symptoms; Occupational Health