Sterilization & Disinfection

Latest Issue of OR Manager
March 2025
Home Sterilization & Disinfection

FDA revises EUAs for N95 decontamination systems

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on January 21 reissued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for 10 systems used to decontaminate N95 respirators used by healthcare personnel . The 10 systems are: Michigan State University Decontamination System Technical Safety Services VHP Decontamination System Stryker Sustainability Solutions VHP Decontamination System STERIS…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 26, 2021
Share

AAMI releases four amendments to steam sterilization standard

Editor's Note The Association for Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), on January 20, released four amendments to the “ANSI/AAMI ST79 Comprehensive guide to steam sterilization and sterility assurance in healthcare facilities.” Among the additions: recommendations and clarifications for maintaining the integrity of the sterile processing area, including common sense additions,…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
January 21, 2021
Share

Expanding reprocessing programs can yield cost savings

The financial impact of COVID-19 on healthcare providers has been considerable. With experts predicting that half of all US hospitals would be operating in the red by the end of 2020, healthcare leaders have had to seek multiple ways to cut costs. The expansion of single-use medical device (SUD) reprocessing…

Read More

By: OR Manager
January 19, 2021
Share

Take our survey to win a gift card

Editor's Note The Kilmer Innovations in Packaging (KIIP) group seeks your feedback on sterile medical device packaging. This group is passionate about sterile packaging and its role in the delivery of sterile, safe-to-use medical devices. We invite you to take a brief survey for a chance to win a $50…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
December 17, 2020
Share

Sponsored Message

Illuminating infection risks in urology—A spotlight on COVID-19

Now that facilities are returning to performing urology cases, what should staff be aware of regarding COVID-19 and urology in general? This was the question Lane Jacobs, an expert in global product solutions for Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts, asked Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and chief executive officer, Ofstead &…

Read More

By: Judith M. Mathias, MA, RN
December 15, 2020
Share

How does lifelong learning in sterile processing affect patient care?

Editor’s Note. Developing and sustaining competent sterile processing staff is critical for patient safety, yet there is a dearth of formal educational programs for this function. Whitman Partners, a Portland, Oregon-based specialty search firm dedicated to placing directors of surgical services at hospitals and surgery centers nationwide, asked former surgical…

Read More

By: OR Manager
December 15, 2020
Share

Sponsored Message

New recommendations issued for instrument care and cleaning

New recommendations developed from evidence-based research have been added to AORN’s Guideline for Care and Cleaning of Surgical Instruments. Several of these changes will have an impact on the quality of processing in sterile processing (SP) areas. This latest version, released on October 12, 2020, includes industry changes that have…

Read More

By: Susan Klacik, BS, CRCST, ACE, CIS, FCS
November 17, 2020
Share

Reprocessing N95 masks with hydrogen peroxide vapor

Editor's Note This study, led by researchers from Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, Houston, is the first to use hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) technology on a large scale to reprocess N95 masks in a healthcare system. The researchers were able to recapture and reprocess 29,706 N95 masks using HPV, with…

Read More

By: Judy Mathias
October 22, 2020
Share

Faulty bronchoscope reprocessing raises risks of infection transmission

Preventing infection transmission has been a chief concern of healthcare leaders and staff striving to protect their patients and themselves from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus poses an insidious threat that includes the possibility of bronchoscopy-associated transmission of COVID-19. Long before the pandemic, epidemiologist and researcher Cori…

Read More

By: Judith M. Mathias, MA, RN
October 21, 2020
Share

Timely delivery needed to ensure safety of loaned instruments

Imagine that during a total joint surgical procedure, debris comes out of a surgical instrument and lands directly inside a patient’s open wound. Although such a scenario is rare, when it does occur, it creates a major patient infection risk. Many standards and guidelines recommend best practices that can help…

Read More

By: Susan Klacik, BS, CRCST, ACE, CIS, FCS
October 21, 2020
Share

Join our community

Learn More
Video Spotlight
Live chat by BoldChat