Evaluation of radiofrequency electronic system in intraoperative monitoring of surgical textiles

ABSTRACT Objective To test performance of SurgiSafe®, a radiofrequency electronic device to detect surgical textiles during operations as compared to manual counting. Methods Surgical sponges with radiofrequency TAGs were placed in the abdominal cavity of a pig submitted to laparotomy, in randomly distributed sites. The TAGs were counted manually and also using SurgiSafe®. Positive and negative predictive values, sensitivity, specificity and time required for counting were analyzed for both methods. Results Through the analysis of 35 surgical cycles, SurgiSafe® immediately identified all sponges, with specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values of 100%. Although not statistically significant, the manual count had sensitivity of 99.72% and specificity of 99.90%. Conclusion SurgiSafe® proved to be an effective device to identify surgical sponges in vivo, in real time; and its use as an adjuvant to manual counting is very helpful to increase patient's safety.摘要 目的：对比射频电子设备SurgiSafe®与人工计数在手术中检测手术纺织品的性能。方法：将带有射频标签（Radiofrequency TAGs）的手术海绵随机放置于接受剖腹手术的猪腹腔内，分别采用人工计数与SurgiSafe®设备进行计数。分析两种方法的阳性预测值、阴性预测值、灵敏度、特异度及计数所需时长。结果：通过对35次手术循环的分析，SurgiSafe®可即时识别所有海绵，其特异度、灵敏度、阳性预测值与阴性预测值均达100%。尽管未发现统计学差异，人工计数的灵敏度为99.72%，特异度为99.90%。结论：SurgiSafe®是一种可实时在体识别手术海绵的有效设备，将其作为人工计数的辅助手段，有助于提升患者安全。