Table 5 Characteristics of included studies on electrocautery

Carr, 2020 [24]

Descriptive, cross sectional study

N/A

36

Pediatric tonsillectomy patients

Airborne particle concentration in air sample during tonsillectomy.

Airborne particle concentration during tonsillectomy was over 9.5 times higher when electrocautery was set at 20 W compared to 12 W

Direct

Subbarayan, 2019 [25]

Descriptive, cross sectional study

N/A

6

Patients with resection of oropharyngeal cancer

PCR of air samples for HPV16 DNA

None of the electrocautery fumes sampled yielded detectable HPV16 DNA

Direct

Brüske-Hohlfeld, 2008 [26]

Descriptive, cross sectional study

N/A

6

Patients undergoing abdominal surgery

Airborne particle concentration in air samples

Electro-cauterization and argon plasma tissue coagulation induced the production of very high concentrations of particles in the diameter range of 10 nm to 1 μm.

Direct

Ishihama, 2010 [27]

Descriptive, cross sectional study

N/A

54

Patients undergoing head and neck surgeries.

Blood aerosols in OR air conduction filters

Surgical procedures using electrocautery can result in aerosolization of blood.

Direct

Sawchuk, 1989 [22]

Experimental study

N/A

7

Human plantar warts

Dot-blot analysis of HPV DNA in air samples

Four of seven electrocoagulation-derived vapors were positive for human papillomavirus DNA.

Indirect

Johnson, 1991 [28]

Experimental study

N/A

32 cell cultures

HIV-1 inoculated blood

Isolation of P⁻²⁴ HIV-1 core antigen in cell cultures obtained from exposed to surgical smoked generated in the presence of HIV-1 inoculated blood

No HIV-1 was detected in cells exposed to surgical smoke

Indirect