A client has requires a mid-abdominal surgical incision which necessit

A client has requires a mid-abdominal surgical incision which necessitates a sterile dressing. An appropriate intervention for the nurse to implement in maintaining sterile asepsis is to:

1. Put sterile gloves on before opening sterile packages
2. Discard packages that may have been in contact with the area below waist level
3. Place the cap of the sterile solution well within the sterile field
4. Place sterile items on the very edge of the sterile drape

ANSWER

ANS: 2
A sterile object held below a person’s waist is considered contaminated. To maintain sterile asep-sis, packages that may have been in contact with the area below waist level should be discarded. Sterile gloves are not put on before opening sterile packages as the outside of the packages is not sterile. The nurse uses hand hygiene and opens sterile packages, being careful to keep the inner contents sterile. After a cap or lid is removed, it is held in the hand or placed sterile side (inside) up on a clean surface. A bottle cap or lid should never rest on a sterile surface, even though the inside of the cap is sterile. The edges of a sterile field are considered to be contaminated. Sterile items should be placed in the middle of the sterile field to maintain sterile asepsis.