Bacterial contamination is common on the hands of anesthesia providers, with high rates of transmission to the surgical field, a new study finds. "As anesthesiologists, we like to think the surgical drapes protect the patient from tens of trillions of microorganisms that are in and on our bodies. Nope!" says Steven L. Shafer, MD, of Columbia University and editor of Anesthesia & Analgesia, which published the report in its January 2011 issue.