AORN Journal
Volume 87, Issue 2 , Pages 315-321 , February 2008

Counting Difficulties: Retained Instruments, Sponges, and Needles

  • Sarah Jackson, RN

      Affiliations

    • Sarah Jackson, RN, is a circulating nurse at Harry S. Truman Medical Center, Columbia, MO. Ms Jackson has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.
    • ,
  • Sharon Brady, RN, CNOR

      Affiliations

    • Sharon Brady, RN, CNOR, is a same day surgery nurse at University of Missouri Hospital, Columbia. Ms Brady has no declared affiliation that could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest in publishing this article.

References 

  1. Gawande AA . Risk factors for retained instruments and sponges after surgery . N Engl J Med . 2003;348(3):229–235
  2. Fabian CE . Electronic tagging of surgical sponges to prevent their accidental retention . Surgery . 2005;137(3):298–301
  3. Shea MA , Northcutt C . Making sense of standards of care . In:  Abele JR editors. Medical Errors and Litigation: Investigation and Case Preparation . Tucson, AZ: Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company; 2004;p. 195–196
  4. Pecuniary  . In: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . 11th ed.. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc; 2003;p. 912
  5. Compensatory . In: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . 11th ed.. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc; 2003;p. 253
  6. Punitive damages . In: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary . 11th ed.. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc; 2003;p. 1009
  7. Fact sheet on the National Practitioner Data Bank. National Practitioner Data Bank . http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/pubs/fs/Fact_Sheet-National_Practitioner_Data_Bank.pdf Accessed December 29, 2007.
  8. US Department of Health and Human Services. National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). Annual Report 2005 . http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/pubs/stats/2005_NPDB_Annual_Report.pdf Accessed December 6, 2007.
  9. Nordenberg T . Make no mistake: medical errors can be deadly serious . FDA Consum . 2000;34(5):13–18
  10. Recommended practices for sponge, sharp, and instrument counts . In: Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices . Denver, CO: AORN, Inc; 2008;p. 293–302
  11. Girard NJ . The countdown to safety [Editorial] . AORN J . 2004;79(3):575–576
  12. Beyea SC . Counting instruments and sponges [Patient Safety First] . AORN J . 2003;78(2):290–294
  13. Bacheldor B . Surgical sponges get smart. RFID J . http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2518/1/1/ July 26, 2006; Accessed December 6, 2007.

  indicates that continuing education contact hours are available for this activity. Earn 3.1 contact hours by reading this article and the following article and taking the examination on pages 329–330 and then completing the answer sheet and learner evaluation on pages 331–332.You also may access these articles online at http://www.aornjournal.org.

PII: S0001-2092(07)00504-2

doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2007.07.023

AORN Journal
Volume 87, Issue 2 , Pages 315-321 , February 2008

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