Sterilization & Disinfection

Latest Issue of OR Manager
March 2025
Home Sterilization & Disinfection

OSHA issues guidance on reuse, decontamination of N95 respirators

Editor's Note The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on April 24 issued interim guidance on the reuse and decontamination of N95 and other filtering-facepiece respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic. OSHA notes that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has identified research that suggests the following methods…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 29, 2020
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Surgeons help create process for disinfecting, reusing N95 masks

Editor's Note In this study from BJC HealthCare and Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, a multidisciplinary team that included surgeons created a new process for disinfecting and reusing N95 masks, using vaporized hydrogen peroxide. The process allows healthcare workers (HCW) to reuse masks up to 20 cycles, and…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 28, 2020
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IUSS sterilizes N95 masks without damaging masks

Editor's Note In this study from the Houston Methodist Research Institute, immediate-use steam sterilization (IUSS) using a Steris Amsco Evolution HC1500 PreVac Steam Sterilizer autoclave was performed on N95 masks. Masks were wrapped in paper-plastic sterilization peel pouches (Medical Action Industries 8” role, Ref 422R). A chemical indicator and biological…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 22, 2020
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ACS releases new guidance to help healthcare facilities prepare for resuming surgery

Editor' Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) on April 17 released a new document, “Local Resumption of Elective Surgery Guidance,” to help healthcare facilities prepare to resume elective surgery once COVID-19 has peaked in their area. The document includes four categories: COVID Awareness—addresses the community’s COVID-19 numbers, including prevalence,…

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By: Judy Mathias
April 20, 2020
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Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces, inactivation with biocidal agents

Editor's Note A new novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the disease COVID-19, is the third highly pathogenic human coronavirus that has emerged in the last two decades. The other two are the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respirtory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses. This analysis of 22 studies finds…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 17, 2020
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OR business leaders anticipate growth and opportunities in 2020

Planning for volume growth and adopting best business practices for the perioperative environment were overarching themes at the 2020 OR Business Management Conference (ORBMC) in late January. Leading healthcare industry clinicians and experts offered fresh insights into competing in the burgeoning outpatient surgery market and persuading stakeholders to switch to…

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By: Elizabeth Wood
March 16, 2020
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Study: Anesthetic management of patients with suspected COVID-19 during emergency surgical procedures

Editor's Note This retrospective, multicenter study from four hospitals in Wuhan, China, found that Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) specific guidelines for emergency surgical procedures in patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection can effectively prevent cross-infection in the OR. The guidelines include: negative pressure ORs level 3 protective measures for…

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By: Judy Mathias
March 5, 2020
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Endoscope drying effectiveness, microbial levels in automated drying vs standard storage cabinets

Editor's Note An automated drying and storage cabinet with forced filtered air is advantageous for rapid drying of endoscope internal and external surfaces and reducing the risk of microbial growth after reprocessing, this study finds. Using the automated drying cabinet, internal channels of all bronchoscopes, colonoscopes, and duodenoscopes studied were…

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By: Judy Mathias
February 27, 2020
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Study: Inadequate precleaning can jeopardize sterilization of surgical tools

Editor's Note This study by William A. Rutala, PhD, MPH, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which compared three low-temperature sterilization technologies to steam sterilization of simulated inadequately precleaned surgical tools, found steam sterilization to be the most effective and with the largest margin of…

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By: Judy Mathias
February 26, 2020
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Challenges in achieving high-level endoscope disinfection

Editor's Note In this review article, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates highlight the reasons endoscope reprocessing is often ineffective and microbes frequently remain on endoscopes after high-level disinfection. Among the reasons: non-adherence to guidelines use of damaged endoscopes use of insoluble products during endoscopy insufficient cleaning contaminated rinse water…

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By: Judy Mathias
February 25, 2020
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