Sterile Processing

Stethoscope diaphragms are contaminated with the same pathogens as the hands and they are capable of transmitting pathogens from patient to patient. The CDC should readdress its published guidelines.

Too often the tracking of the use and disinfection is done with pen and paper. That's what leads to problems, says Michael Cousin.

Linda Spaulding RN, BC, CIC, CHEC, CHOP: “Infection preventionists need to learn how to clean an endoscope, or at least observe the cleaning…. Infection preventionists need to make rounds, they need to talk to the person processing.”

Though tough months lie ahead for infection preventionists and other healthcare professionals, hope remains that at some point in 2021 things will begin to settle down. In the end, it comes down to a simple formula: We win, COVID-19 loses.

W. Frank Peacock, MD, FACEP, FACC, FESC: “When I intubate somebody, I need to know where the tube is, and I need to know now—like within 10 seconds. You can’t tell with anything else. Nothing is as fast as the stethoscope. I can get an X-ray, but I’ve got to wait for the X-ray while you hold your breath.”

New infection preventionists can use this checklist to perform IP rounds in the surgical suite, decontamination areas, and sterile processing area.

Melinda Benedict, MS, CIC, CFER: “I think for infection preventionists: If you’re not already involved in your endoscopy department or you haven’t been invited in, see if you can get in and just continue to check it out and see what’s going on, especially if the reprocessing and cleaning of the scope is actually done within that clinic.”

Charles P. Gerba, PhD: “Unfortunately, standard procedures for testing and registration by regulatory agencies of CADs (continuously active sanitizers or disinfectants) as disinfectants useful in preventing exposure to disease causing microorganism transmission has only taken place in recent years.”

Julie McKinney, PhD: “If you’re going to disinfect, you’re going to let it sit for three minutes and then you’re going to wipe it. If you’re going to sanitize, you only have to leave it for 30 seconds and then wipe.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Lysol Disinfectant Spray to combat SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The tool uses nodes, lettered A to O, that assess products in a way that spans labeling, marketing, and regulatory data, says the CDC. It provides a rigorous standardized method for review.

Although all patients require vigilant infection prevention measures and the goal should always be zero infections, the stakes are sometimes higher in the NICU, as infections there have higher potential for death.

Several manufacturers that are falsely marketing ozone gas or UV light-based products claiming to clean, disinfect or sanitize CPAP devices and accessories.

The agency has been pushing to make the LivaNova Heater-Cooler System 3T safer since 2015.

About 20% of passengers in an airport have clean hands. If that increases to 30%, a potential infectious disease would have a worldwide impact that is about 24% smaller.

Seqirus announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Fluad Quadrivalent, touted as the first and only adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza vaccine, developed to help protect adults 65 years and older against seasonal influenza.

It is in the best interest of the patient that the system moves to either disposable components or scopes, as duodenoscopes have shown a propensity for disease transmission.

The Aspergillus mold was detected in the hospital’s operating rooms on Nov. 10, shortly after 6-month-old Elizabeth Hutt underwent her third heart operation.

It's been given an official name, COVID-19, and will likely become known as SARS-CoV-2, when all is said and done. 

Latest development in the push to reduce risk of infection from the devices.

The company is trying to find ways to keep the move from affecting patients and providers.

"Infection preventionists are frontline workers who are in an excellent position to intercept unnecessary antibiotic usage."

Outbreaks in NICUs are particularly challenging in that not only are the patients vulnerable to infections, but often the design and layout of these units (often a pin-wheel configuration) coupled with family visits bring about inherent challenges.