Comment on: Purifying air over the operating field with a new mobile laminar airflow device to reduce the possibility of airborne contamination

Abstract

Comment on: Purifying air over the operating field with a new mobile laminar airflow device to reduce the possibility of airborne contamination We were interested to read the recent article by Osher et al. 1 We had also previously reviewed the poster by Osher and Figueiredo, "A New Technology for Purifying the Surgical Field", at the 2019 ASCRS Annual Meeting in San Diego that had a nice picture of the Operio System located adjacent to the patient and the surgical field. Point 1, we wish that photograph had been included in this article and the reason for the orientation or of the machine discussed further in the article.Prior to the San Diego meeting, we became concerned with the plethora of lint-like fibers on the surgical field at our institution, both clear and blue, particularly after visualizing one in Bela Lugosi-like horror in the anterior chamber on the first postoperative day (Figure 1). After recovery and ensuring that the patient did not develop endophthalmitis, we initiated a Quality Assurance Project that sought to identify the number, risk factors, and location of these fibers during a senior resident's 3-month surgical rotation (A.H.). Eighty-nine surgeries were performed between the attending and the senior resident, and 15 fibers were identified. Most fibers were seen on the approach to the eye as an instrument was inserted, but 7 were seen in the eye during nucleus manipulation, capsulorhexis, and cortex removal. Similar to the article by Osher et al., we had no episodes of toxic anterior segment syndrome, chronic uveitis, or endophthalmitis (Table 1).Regarding Table 2, the denominator is 99 in the laminar flow group and 50 in the control group. We noted on initial review that the total number of fibers seen in the laminar air flow group was 13 in 99 eyes vs the control group of 16 in 50 eyes, which is only a difference of 3, which if we 513