Researchers raise the alarm on splashing during reprocessing--Part 2
Part 1 of this two-part series discussed the splashes and the potential for exposure to pathogens that personnel face daily in sterile processing and endoscopy departments, as well as the current guidelines and strategies for reducing exposures (OR Manager, July 2021, pp 1, 9-11, 15). These risks were derived from…
Educate to mitigate workplace violence in healthcare--Part 1
Increased tensions during the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a spate of violent incidents, many of them directed at healthcare workers (HCWs). About 20% of respondents to a National Nurses United survey in late 2020 of more than 15,000 US registered nurses reported an increase in on-the-job violence caused by…
New term clarifies instrument point-of-use treatment
What exactly is required to prepare instruments for transport to the decontamination room after a surgical procedure? Point-of-use cleaning, which may also be referred to as precleaning, has been used to describe instrument preparation at the point of use after a surgical procedure. But both point-of-use cleaning and precleaning have…
COVID-19 antibodies found in blood donated by Americans in December 2019
Editor's Note COVID-19 virus antibodies were detected in 106 specimens from American Red Cross blood donations in California, Oregon, and Washington, as early as December 13-16, 2019, finds this study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Red Cross. Similarly, antibodies were identified in blood…
Researchers raise the alarm on splashing during reprocessing--Part 1
Does it really matter if surgical instruments are submerged in cleaning solution when technologists or nurses scrub them after a case? Is there a reason for the 3-foot separation between dirty and clean areas? Do germs stop at the red line? During the COVID-19 pandemic, much attention has been focused…
FDA clears single-use flexible cystoscope from UroViu
Editor's Note UroViu Corporation, Bellevue, Washington, announced May 24 that it has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its portable, flexible single-use cystoscope. The Uro-G has a fully deflectable tip that enables physicians to perform interventional and diagnostic urologic procedures in various settings, without reprocessing.
Joint Commission issues Quick Safety on dangers of surgical smoke
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on December 15 issued a new Quick Safety that focuses on the dangers presented by surgical smoke. Surgical smoke is a byproduct created by the thermal destruction of tissue with lasers, electrosurgical systems, radio frequency devices, hyfrecators, ultrasonic scalpels, power tools, and other devices. Studies…
The sharp end of safety: The fight to reduce needlestick injuries
Each December, the international medical community marks Sharps Safety Awareness Month, which serves as a powerful reminder of the significant risks from injuries caused by needlesticks and surgical sharps faced by surgeons, nurses, and other clinicians in their daily lives. Every needlestick injury incurred in the OR comes with a…
Study: Inadequate precleaning can jeopardize sterilization of surgical tools
Editor's Note This study by William A. Rutala, PhD, MPH, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which compared three low-temperature sterilization technologies to steam sterilization of simulated inadequately precleaned surgical tools, found steam sterilization to be the most effective and with the largest margin of…
Challenges in achieving high-level endoscope disinfection
Editor's Note In this review article, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates highlight the reasons endoscope reprocessing is often ineffective and microbes frequently remain on endoscopes after high-level disinfection. Among the reasons: non-adherence to guidelines use of damaged endoscopes use of insoluble products during endoscopy insufficient cleaning contaminated rinse water…
