In 1969, Charnley and Eftekhar [7] reported a dramatic reduction in the prevalence of postoperative
infection after total hip arthroplasty, from 9% (17/190) to 1% (9/708),
with the implementation of a clean-air operating theater.
Careful analysis of their data suggested that multiple factors over the course of the study,
such as the method of subcutaneous wound closure and the use of antibiotics,
may also have contributed to the reduced rate of infection.