If antiseptic prep solutions are recontaminated during draping, what is the likely consequence?

• A. No effect on sterility
• B. Requires only additional draping
• C. Ignore and proceed
• D. Increased risk of infection; would require re-prepping and re-draping to restore a sterile field

Answer: (D)

Maintaining a sterile field hinges on keeping the prep area free from later contamination; when antiseptic prep solutions are recontaminated during draping, the barrier is breached and microbes can enter the surgical field. This raises the risk of postoperative infection, so the correct course of action is to re-prep the surgical site and re-drape to re-establish a sterile field. Simply adding another drape or proceeding without addressing contamination would leave the field non-sterile and expose the patient to infection.