Sterile Processing

Q: Our sterile processing department (SPD) is sent explanted implants (screws, plates) to clean and sterilize so the patient can take them home. I have questioned this practice but do not have documentation to challenge this decision.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a communication to healthcare professionals to share preliminary information regarding infections associated with the use of reprocessed flexible bronchoscopes.

Researchers from the University of Southampton have demonstrated how a pioneering ultrasonic device can significantly improve the cleaning of medical instruments and reduce contamination and risk of infection.

Q: Our facility has been using rigid sterilization containers for some time. We do not have a cart washer or mechanical washer so we wipe them out with a disinfectant wipe. I attended a webinar and was told this is not accepted practice. We have been cleaning the containers this way for years. What is the correct practice?

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) recently held a roundtable discussion on the numerous challenges associated with sterile processing.

“Can’t you just hand-wash that piece of equipment and put it in the sterilizer?”That’s one question Tim Brooks hears often-especially from surgeons.The answer is usually, “No.”“I don’t think people really understand what it takes to get instruments back on the shelf,” says Brooks, BS, CSPM, senior manager of sterile processing at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. “Many doctors have no idea what the functions of the sterile processing department (SPD) are. The only real exposure they have is what they’ve been told by scrub techs and nurses in the OR suite. In my 28-plus years in this industry, I’ve only seen three surgeons come and walk through SPD. There is a standard of care for every patient. Every time we make an exception, we are changing things for the next patients.”