The Infection Control Today® sterile processing page provides an inside look into the sterile processing (or central supply) department in the hospital where surgical instruments are cleaned, sterilized, and reprocessed in order to disinfect, remove bioburden, and prep for upcoming procedures. Sterile processing applies to not only the knives, scalpels, scissors, forceps, and clamps used in surgery, but also instruments such as endoscopes and duodenoscopes. ICT® reports on the latest technology but also on the means to disinfect that technology. Also, the trend toward making more disposable surgical equipment. What does that mean for the sterile processing team?
April 5th 2024
Take 5 minutes to catch up on Infection Control Today®’s highlights for the week ending April 7, 2024.
Medical Crossfire®: Maximizing Patient Outcomes in Shingles – Are You Leveraging Guideline Based Care?
View More
Understanding RSV: What You Need to Know to Prevent and Treat Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Your Patients
View More
Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Understanding the Infection Burden and Anticipating the Impact of Vaccines
View More
Medical Crossfire®: Which Patients with Hematologic Malignancies are at Risk for Secondary Immunodeficiency (SID)… and How Can We Leverage Evidence to Improve Their Outcomes?
View More
Patient, Provider, and Caregiver Connection™: Prevention and Control of Meningococcal Disease — Individualizing Vaccine Recommendations in Adolescent Populations
View More
Building Better NICU Infection Prevention
January 20th 2020Outbreaks 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.
The Importance of Following Manufacturers’ IFUs
August 1st 2019How do we clean an instrument has always been the question of the day in sterile processing departments all over the world; the answer is to come. The sad truth is, in some instances, the cleaning process was derived from someone in leadership making up a rule.
Challenges and Lessons in Building a New Central Sterile Processing Department
August 1st 2019When it comes to the culture of a hospital, nothing is as important as the employees who work for it and aim to provide excellent patient care. When it comes to a hospital's balance sheet, particularly the physical assets, nothing is as important as the actual hospital and other ancillary buildings.
Addressing the Misconceptions About Using ISOs for Endoscope Repair
August 1st 2019There are many misconceptions about using ISOs for endoscope repair. Perhaps the one with wide-ranging implications is the misconception that using an ISO for service will invalidate the device’s 510K, instructions for use (IFU), or automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) validation.
The Mandate to Maintain and Follow Manufacturers’ Maintenance Documents and Service Manuals
June 26th 2019Many of the regulatory and accreditation criteria for healthcare facilities relate to decontamination, sterilization and maintenance procedures. The standards often require hospital SPD, BMET, OR, Infection Control and other technicians to follow and have easy access to manufacturers’ directives regarding preparing and caring for their devices, equipment and systems.