Safety-Sponge System Eliminates Retained Sponges

In the days of modern, evidence-based medicine, nothing is true until at least one or two randomized controlled trials have proven so. So, Surgical Medical (Irvine, CA) took the challenge of proving the obvious: their sponge-tracking system indeed decreases the number of retained surgical sponges. This evidence comes on top of their earlier track record of 200,000 operations without any lost sponges. Prior to implementation of the system in an unnamed high-volume surgical practice, retained surgical sponges occurred at a worrying rate of one every 64 days. After implementation, 87,404 procedures were performed over 18 months using 1,862,373 Safety-Sponges, and none were lost. Importantly, there was no workflow disruption and the solution turned out to be cost-effective. We would have taken the prima facie evidence on this, but it is a good thing to see medical device companies taking the responsibility to actually conclusively prove the effectiveness of their devices. Results have been published in the February issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.
Press release: Independent Clinical Research Confirms Clinical Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness…