Illuminating infection risks in urology—A spotlight on COVID-19
Now that facilities are returning to performing urology cases, what should staff be aware of regarding COVID-19 and urology in general? This was the question Lane Jacobs, an expert in global product solutions for Boston Scientific, Marlborough, Massachusetts, asked Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and chief executive officer, Ofstead &…
How does lifelong learning in sterile processing affect patient care?
Editor’s Note. Developing and sustaining competent sterile processing staff is critical for patient safety, yet there is a dearth of formal educational programs for this function. Whitman Partners, a Portland, Oregon-based specialty search firm dedicated to placing directors of surgical services at hospitals and surgery centers nationwide, asked former surgical…
New recommendations issued for instrument care and cleaning
New recommendations developed from evidence-based research have been added to AORN’s Guideline for Care and Cleaning of Surgical Instruments. Several of these changes will have an impact on the quality of processing in sterile processing (SP) areas. This latest version, released on October 12, 2020, includes industry changes that have…
Reprocessing N95 masks with hydrogen peroxide vapor
Editor's Note This study, led by researchers from Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, Houston, is the first to use hydrogen peroxide vapor (HPV) technology on a large scale to reprocess N95 masks in a healthcare system. The researchers were able to recapture and reprocess 29,706 N95 masks using HPV, with…
Faulty bronchoscope reprocessing raises risks of infection transmission
Preventing infection transmission has been a chief concern of healthcare leaders and staff striving to protect their patients and themselves from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus poses an insidious threat that includes the possibility of bronchoscopy-associated transmission of COVID-19. Long before the pandemic, epidemiologist and researcher Cori…
Timely delivery needed to ensure safety of loaned instruments
Imagine that during a total joint surgical procedure, debris comes out of a surgical instrument and lands directly inside a patient’s open wound. Although such a scenario is rare, when it does occur, it creates a major patient infection risk. Many standards and guidelines recommend best practices that can help…
Susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 to UV irradiation
Editor's Note In this study from Germany, researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly susceptible to irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) light. High viral loads (5x106TCID50/mL) were inactivated in 9 minutes with UVC (254 nm) irradiation. The UVC dose required for complete inactivation was 1,048 mJ/cm2. Exposure to UVA (365…
Restoring filtration efficiency after decontamination of used N95 masks
Editor's Note In this study, researchers from India’s Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Israel’s Technion-IIT discover how to recharge used N95 masks after decontamination to recover their 95% efficiency. Also included is a proof-of-concept construction of a battery-operated smart mask. N95 masks are 95% efficient at filtering out 0.3…
Potential effect of contaminated bronchoscopes on COVID-19 patients
Editor's Note In this Letter to the Editor, epidemiologist and researcher Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and colleagues caution that because of high bronchoscope contamination rates found during routine use in previous studies, the possibility of bronchoscopy-associated transmission of COVID-19 or other pathogens must be considered. Though high-level disinfection should eliminate…
Sandia Labs partners with hospitals, manufacturers to increase availability of masks for healthcare workers
Editor's Note Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, New Mexico), one of three National Nuclear Security Administration research and development laboratories in the US, announced on June 22 that it is partnering with hospitals and device manufacturers to increase the availability of respirator masks for healthcare workers. Sandia is helping manufacturers test…
