Final answer:
For patient safety, the nurse must confirm allergies during sign-in, ensure the team's awareness during time out, and address all equipment-related concerns to prevent contact with latex during surgery.
Step-by-step explanation:
For patients with a latex allergy, the nursing staff has a critical role in their pre-surgery care to ensure their safety during surgical procedures. The first step is during the sign-in process, where the nurse must confirm the patient's known allergies with the team before the induction of anesthesia. This measure is to avoid any contact with latex products and ensure that alternative materials are available.
During the time out phase right before the skin incision, the entire team must orally confirm their awareness of the patient's latex allergy to ensure that appropriate non-latex gloves and other equipment are used. This step is crucial for preventing allergic reactions or contact dermatitis. Additionally, the nurse should review the patient's identity, procedure, and surgical site as part of the safety checklist.
Lastly, the nursing team is responsible for ensuring that all equipment and instruments are sterile and latex-free, and that any issues regarding equipment are addressed. It is essential that the patient has not consumed any allergy medications prior to this procedure to ensure accurate allergy testing and to prevent any potential interference with perioperative medications.