Guideline implementation: prevention of retained surgical items.

Fencl JL. AORN J. 2016;104:37-48.

Although incidents involving retained surgical items are rare, they continue to occur. This commentary reviews guidance for perioperative nurses to reduce risks of this sentinel event. The author outlines steps to improve safety such as team accountability, standardized surgical sponge counts, and reconciling count discrepancies.

PubMed citation Available at