When a sterile field is contaminated, what is the recommended action?

When a sterile field is contaminated, what is the recommended action?

• A. Ignore and continue
• B. Assume only one item is contaminated
• C. Replace items and consider the field contaminated
• D. Switch to non-sterile technique

Answer: (C)

When sterility is breached, the field can no longer be trusted to be free of microorganisms. The proper response is to stop, discard or replace the contaminated items (and anything that touched them), and re-establish a new, sterile field with fresh sterile supplies. This protects the patient from infection and ensures that instruments, drapes, and other items in use are truly sterile. Ignoring the contamination, assuming only one item is affected, or continuing with non-sterile technique would put the patient at risk, so the correct action is to replace items and treat the field as contaminated.

When sterility is breached, the field can no longer be trusted to be free of microorganisms. The proper response is to stop, discard or replace the contaminated items (and anything that touched them), and re-establish a new, sterile field with fresh sterile supplies. This protects the patient from infection and ensures that instruments, drapes, and other items in use are truly sterile. Ignoring the contamination, assuming only one item is affected, or continuing with non-sterile technique would put the patient at risk, so the correct action is to replace items and treat the field as contaminated.