Surgical fire in operating room- A meta synthesis

Operating rooms (ORs) are among the most vulnerable hospital wards to fire and burns. Patient burns are one of the unwanted events that can cause irreparable complications and even death. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the factors affecting patient burns and propose strategies to prevent patient burns. The present study was a meta-synthesis systematic review. The keywords patient safety, Operating rooms safety, and safe surgery were searched on ProQuest, Ovid, Science Direct, and PubMed. English and Persian articles on fire and patient burns in ORs that were published before 2020 were included. Articles considered suitable by two researchers were analyzed through thematic analysis. Head and neck surgeries are more frequently prone to burns. The most common causes of burns in ORs include lasers, electrocautery, electroshocks, surgical drills, lamps, fiber optic, and warmers. Alcohol-based substances used to disinfect patients’ skin are the most important flammable materials in ORs.