SynthesisDer Anaesthesist2018
Risks and prevention of surgical fires : A systematic review.
Synthesis in Der Anaesthesist, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Causes and preventive measures for fire-related injuries in intensive care units: a systematic review.Journal of global health · 2025Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the efficacy of preoperative skin preparation with alcoholic chlorhexidine compared to povidone iodine in orthopedic surgery.Scientific reports · 2021Pooled it
- Ambient oxygen enrichment during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: an overestimated risk? - Insights from a manikin study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Prevalence and root causes of operating room fires in the United States 2014-2024.Patient safety in surgery · 2025Article
- Oxygen accumulation and associated dangers in rescue helicopters.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Operating Room Fire During Total Knee Arthroplasty Tibial Impaction: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.Arthroplasty today · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Surgically induced fire is a life-threatening hazard; this topic has received little attention, although only 3 factors, the so-called fire triad, are needed for surgical fires to occur: an oxidizer, fuel and an ignition source. This systematic review aims to determine the impact of each component and to delegate every staff member an area of responsibility, thus ensuring patient health through prevention or protection. The trial was registered in Prospero CRD42018082656. A database search of eligible, preferably evidence-based studies was conducted. The Robins-I tool for assessing the risk of bias revealed a moderate risk of bias. Due to insufficient data, the main findings of these studies could not be summarized through a quantitative synthesis; therefore, a qualitative synthesis is outlined. The results are summarized according to the roles of the fire triad and discussed. (1) Role of the oxidizer: oxygen is the key component of the triad. Safe oxygen delivery is important. An oxygen-enriched environment (ORE) is caused by draping and is preferably prevented by suctioning. Fuel characteristics are affected by varying oxygen concentrations. (2) Role of the ignition source: electrocauterization is the most common ignition source, followed by lasers. Less common ignition sources include fiberoptic cables and preparative solutions, petrol or acetone. (3) Role of the fuel: surgical drapes are one of the most common fuels for surgical fires followed by the patient's hair and skin. Skin preparation solutions are among the less common fuels. Many fire-resistant materials have been tested that do not remain fire resistant in ORE. It was concluded that the main problem is defining the real extent of this hazard. Exact numbers and exact condition protocols are needed; therefore, standardized registration of every fire and future studies with much evidence are needed. Immediate prevention consists of close attention to patient safety to prevent surgical fires from happening.
Indexed as
Identifiers
29766207What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.