Reducing blood exposures during orthopedic surgical procedures.

Surgical team members constantly are exposed to blood during procedures. Inadvertent injuries (e.g., needle sticks, cuts) and contaminations expose team members and patients to the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens. Injuries and contaminations can be decreased significantly for scrub people and first assistants, however, by introducing new working methods (i.e., no-touch instrument passing technique, instrument neutral zone).