Nasal Decolonization in Congregant Settings: Reducing Infection Spread, Cutting Costs, and Improving Operational Readiness.

As an Army health care provider for nearly 40 years and former acting Surgeon General of the Army, I know well the critical needs to ensure troop medical readiness and to respond to changing environments. We must use all the tools available to promote the health and well-being of our military personnel. There is one tool we have yet to deploy which I believe we should.

Eliminating surgical fires: a team approach.

The incidence of surgical fires is rising. One agency estimates that the frequency of surgical fires is comparable to that of wrong-site surgery with an incidence of 50 to 100 fires annually. Anesthetists must assist in the development and implementation of processes that eliminate the disfiguring or deadly results from surgical fires.