DNP Final Report: INSTITUTING EDUCATIONAL GUIDELINES ON SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATION SYSTEMS IN THE CARDIOTHORACIC OPERATING ROOM: AN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Electrocautery devices are essential for precise dissection and hemostasis during surgery; however, these devices generate surgical smoke that contains particulate matter harmful to surgical personnel. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to implement an evidence-based educational program to enhance awareness among surgeons and surgical personnel regarding the dangerous effects of surgical smoke and to apply safety measures for protection. Goals included increasing understanding of surgical smoke safety and safeguarding against smoke inhalation using a smoke evacuation system (SES). A pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaire design was used to evaluate the surgical team's knowledge level, including the surgeons, before, after, and one month following education on surgical smoke safety. Surgical personnel’s awareness and understanding of smoke safety, as well as their comfort level with SES usage, increased immediately after the educational program and remained improved one month later. An 85.6% overall increase in knowledge regarding smoke safety was observed post-education, with an 80.9% retention level one month after education.