Sterile Processing

The purpose of this study was to determine the real-world effectiveness of healthcare facilities flexible endoscope cleaning procedures by utilizing the ChannelCheck residual soil test, a product of Healthmark Industries Co, Inc. The ChannelCheck test detects the presence of organic contaminants and can serve as a quality control tool to identify potential deficiencies in endoscope reprocessing effectiveness, typically failure results from not following reprocessing standards and guidelines or the use of damaged or defective equipment.

Turning surgical instrumentation over quickly for the operating room (OR) has always been, and may remain, a constant hot topic. It is a critical issue for several reasons. Flashing is not a viable option for non-emergencies. Capital funds for inventory are not as robust as in years past. Sterile processing departments are often not located within or adjacent to many OR suites at most facilities. Surgical instrumentation and other medical devices are more complex and require unique and extensive processing more then ever. Furthermore, organisms are just as complex as the instruments we are trying to process, so, room for error is much less.

With 2010 coming to a close quickly, ICT presents the top news items and articles relating to disinfection, sterilization and sterile processing, ranked in order of popularity based on Web clicks by ICT readers.

Manufacturers make claims about their products' efficacy in killing disease-causing pathogens, but what do infection preventionists really know about the validity of these claims? In a series of articles, we'll take a look at what practitioners in infection prevention should understand about the science behind label claims and marketing hype, including the FDA clearance and EPA registration processes, as well as testing protocols that preceded a product's appearance in the marketplace. In this first article, we talk to Wallace Puckett, PhD, vice president of science and technology for STERIS Corporation, about the knowledge gaps that currently exist relating to research and development of disinfectants, antibacterials, antimicrobials, microbicides and sporicides.

Patients fitted with long-term indwelling bladder catheters often face a serious complication: bacteria, most commonly Gram-negative Proteus mirabilis, can easily colonize and encrust the catheter. This eventually leads to the formation of a crystalline biofilm, consisting of mucopolysaccharide, that blocks the normal flow of urine from the bladder. Current methods for unblocking encrusted catheters by mechanical means, such as saline solution, replacing the catheter, or by using agents that try to dissolve the biofilm crystals, do not provide satisfactory results.