Sterilization & Disinfection
Dirty scopes persist despite cleaning protocol compliance
Recent outbreaks of deadly infections linked to flexible endoscopes have made headlines, and the Food and Drug Administration has issued strict guidelines for reprocessing these devices. However, cleaning and disinfection may not be effective under the recommended protocols, says Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, epidemiologist and president and chief executive officer,…
Action steps for safe use of reprocessed single-use medical devices
In the United States and globally, the use of reprocessed medical devices labeled and marketed by their original equipment manufacturers as “for single use only” has become commonplace. Large health systems have saved many millions of dollars annually and diverted many hundreds of tons of medical waste by using reprocessed…
Air Force Academy alerts patients to improperly processed endoscopes
Editor's Note The Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, Colorado) is notifying 267 patients from the school’s medical clinic and the Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System that they are at risk of infections from improperly processed gastrointestinal endoscopy equipment, according to the September 21 MilitaryTimes. Air Force officials say…
Three steps forward: Designing a superior sterile processing system
It is easy to overlook the sizable effort required to ensure that instrumentation and supplies are available to surgeons in the OR when needed, in the right amount, and in the right condition. Though sterile processing may not be the most glamorous element of a hospital or surgery center, it…
2016 IAHCSMM Conference: A comprehensive CS learning experience
More than 1,200 individuals from the US and abroad attended the 2016 annual conference of the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM) in San Antonio, Texas. The conference, which covered sterile processing techniques, management skills, and regulations, also provided numerous networking opportunities. Preconference educational events included IAHCSMM’s…
Process improvements raise SPD standards and quality
When audits revealed areas of deficit in the sterile processing departments (SPDs) of the Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, leaders pulled together a team to help implement a quality improvement plan. By analyzing and standardizing their processes, creating auditing tools, and educating staff, they significantly increased quality scores throughout…
11 deaths at Huntington Hospital were patients infected by dirty duodenoscopes
Editor's Note An investigation by the Pasadena Public Health Department, Pasadena, California, into the outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial infections from duodenoscopes found that 16 patients at Huntington Hospital were infected from January 2013 to August 2015, including 11 who have now died, the June 1 Los Angeles Times reports.…
Risk factors linked to CRE transmission via contaminated duodenoscopes
Editor's Note In patients having endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with a contaminated duodenoscope, biliary stent placement, a diagnosis of bile duct cancer, and hospital inpatient status were independently associated with an increased risk of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) transmission, this study finds. The findings were based on data from a 2015…
Peer-to-peer assessment of endoscope reprocessing
Editor's Note In this study, a nonpunitive and collaborative peer methodology for assessing endoscope reprocessing at five Johns Hopkins GI endoscopy sites (three hospital based and two ASCs) was successful in capturing and sharing best practices for cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of endoscopes. The assessments showed that 20 (42%) of…
Low-temperature sterilization: A disinfection alternative
Some complex medical devices cannot withstand high-temperature sterilization. An alternative is low-temperature sterilization, which works for heat- and moisture-sensitive devices. There are different types of low-temperature sterilizers, and this article will review them. Spaulding classification A deciding factor in whether an instrument can undergo high-level disinfection is the Spaulding…
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