It’s one thing to have a policy on managing loaner instrument sets. But how do you put teeth in your policy so these sets can be reprocessed in time to provide safe care and comply with professional guidelines and regulatory requirements? Readers have asked how to get administrative support for…

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Perioperative nurses’ roles have expanded to the point where it is difficult for them to be experts in all areas, especially the reprocessing of complex medical devices. And with reimbursement pressures, OR clinicians need to focus on patient care and physician satisfaction. So I challenge each operating room to recognize…

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Are you following recommended practices when processing implants? Both the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and the Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN) state that a load containing an implant should be quarantined until the results of the biological indicator (BI) testing are available. The rationale is to…

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The Multisociety Guideline on Reprocessing Flexible GI Endoscopes has been updated from its original 2003 edition. Among changes: added details on critical reprocessing steps, including cleaning and drying reprocessing issues for scope attachments, such as flushing catheters. There is also discussion of issues that have incomplete data to guide practice,…

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This summary is based on a special report by ECRI Institute. Can you consider using the Steris System 1E even without a biological indicator (BI)? Yes, but decide carefully, ECRI Institute advises. A number of questions have been raised about the Steris System 1E (SS1E), which is marketed by the…

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There are many reasons you may want to change how you organize or package an instrument set or the sterilization cycle for a set. Maybe the set weighs more than the 25 pounds recommended for containerized instrument sets. Perhaps the original container has sharp edges that tear the wrappers, and…

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The term "flash sterilization" is going away. The new term is "immediate use sterilization." The new term better describes the process employed to steam sterilize items intended to be used immediately and not stored, say those who have worked on a joint position statement on immediate use sterilization. The statement,…

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Recommendations for Class 6 emulating indicators, a new class of indicator for monitoring sterilization, have been issued for the first time by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). These indicators, which entered the market a couple of years ago, use a different approach than biological indicators (BI).…

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Why do we so often see the statement, "use in accordance with manufacturer's instructions" in sterilization and disinfection standards and guidelines? That advice is in recommendations from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), and the Centers for Disease Control and…

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With a new type of sterilization monitor, the Class 6 emulating indicator, on the market, managers are asking how the new device fits into their sterilization quality assurance programs. Two companies recently had Class 6 indicators cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for sale in the US: Steris Corp…

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