AORN updates recommended practices
AORN has updated 7 recommended practices (RPs) for 2008. Highlights were covered at the AORN Congress March 30 to April 4 in Anaheim. Here are selected highlights, which were presented by members of the Recommended Practices Committee. For the complete text, see AORN's 2008 Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Each…
The importance of cleaning in earnest
A regular column on sterilization and infection control issues. When you sterilize an instrument set, you know what the standards are. Sterilizers must provide a sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10 to the minus 6 (10-6). Biological indicators are used to test the efficacy of the sterilizer. Chemical indicators or…
The ins and outs of sterile packaging
A regular column on sterilization and infection control issues. Asterilizer may be functioning properly, but if all the steps leading up to actual sterilization have not been carried out properly, the processed item may not be sterile. One of those steps is packaging. The wrong package or packaging done incorrectly…
Using biological indicators appropriately
Biological monitoring is the cornerstone of your sterilization quality assurance program. What's the right way to use biological indicators (BIs)? What's their role in load release? And how are they used in conjunction with chemical indicators? OR Manager posed frequently asked questions to Cynthia Spry, RN, MA, MSN, CNOR, cochair…
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