Retained Surgical Sponges: Findings from Incident Reports and a Cost-Benefit Analysis of Radiofrequency Technology Table 1 Retained Surgical Items and Surgical Count Events by Type of Item Table 2 Summary of Events Involving Retained Sponges and Surgical Sponge Count Issues from Event Descriptions

Abstract

Current standards for manual counting of sponges and the use of radiographs are not sufficient to prevent the occurrence of retained surgical sponges; our data support the use of adjunct technology. We recommend that hospitals evaluate and consider the use of an adjunct technology.