CS CONNECTION
have the products and equipment they need to comply with industry standards. In this section, we cover some common challenges in decontamination, and the products that help overcome these issues.
Problems with pre-cleaning “One challenge that CS/SPD staffs often face in order to achieve the successful decontami- nation of surgical instruments is the ability to receive instruments from the operating room (OR) in a timely manner,” said Todd Campbell, President of TBJ. “If surgical instrumentation is not received from the OR in an effi cient manner after completion of a surgical procedure, then blood, body fl uids and tissue will dry on the instruments making the technician’s job of manually pre- cleaning instruments much more diffi cult and time consuming. Ideally, instruments should be rinsed under water immediately after surgery. If this isn’t possible, a moist towel should be used to cover the instru- ments to help prevent blood and other material from drying on the instruments before they reach the CS/SPD for processing to promote more effi cient pre-cleaning by the CS/ SPD staff.”
TBJ’s new Hydro-Force
rinse system greatly as- sists technicians in the pre-cleaning and initial removal of gross debris of material from instruments after surgery. The Hydro-Force rinse system option enables technicians to place grossly soiled trays of instruments in the company’s pre-cleaning sinks and let the sink do the work for them. Water is automatically re- circulated in the sink basin to create a gentle turbulence and remove gross soil and debris for a pre-programmed amount of time at the push of a button.
Disassembly details
“If it isn’t clean it isn’t sterile”— the mantra of every sterile processing technician,” said Lindsay Brown, CRCST, CFER, CCSVP, Clinical Education Manager, Key Surgical. “There are many products on the market that set SPD techs up for success during the cleaning of instrumentation, both manual and mechanical. Cleaning brushes will al- ways be an important tool to help remove bioburden from the inside and outside of surgical instrumentation but it doesn’t stop there!
“Once instruments are cleaned using the correct size brush with the correct bristle type, they are then run through an automatic washer/disinfector,” she adds. “Utilizing the appropriate mix of heat, chemistries and impingement, the instruments have a better
chance at getting clean if they are placed in a container that allows that perfect mix to work. Mesh baskets and mesh bags are examples of containment devices that not only protect instruments and keep them from falling off the wash rack but also allow for adequate contact of the detergent. Disassembly is an important step in proper reprocessing for all complex instrumentation and keeping small parts and accessories together can be chal- lenging. Key Surgi- cal’s Mesh Bag helps keep small parts, such as endoscope valves, together during repro- cessing. Designed to withstand gas plasma, EtO, and high-level disinfectant.
Key
Surgical’s Mesh Bag helps keep small parts together
Harmful fumes and odors
TBJ’s Hydro- Force rinse system
“One of the common challenges faced today is long hours in front of the manual cleaning sink on the decontamination side inhaling odors such as blood on instruments, Subtilisin enzymes and cleaning solu- tion fragrances designed to mask smells,” said Alison Shrader, Prod- uct Manager, Belimed. “Some staff members are sensitive to the mixture of odors and cleaning solutions caus- ing headaches and respiratory is- sues; whereas exposure to Subtilisin enzymes, in general, can cause skin irritations and watering eyes.” “The key to resolving the issue is to re- move the irritants or better yet, not introduce them in the fi rst place,” added John Nies, Product Manager, Belimed. “While you can’t remove bloody instruments from the process, looking for and using multi-enzyme cleaning solutions that are fragrance and Subtilisin free yet still effective at breaking down proteins would help eliminate some of the sources of irritation.”
Belimed now offers a full line of Subtilisin and fragrance free detergents that will clear the air in the CS/SPD creating a better work environment for the staff. Belimed Protect is a proprietary triple enzyme (protease, lipase, amylase) formulation that has the cleaning power to remove blood from in- struments and targets the fat, proteins and starch present in biosoils, found on surgical instruments.
Instrument complexity
“Instrument complexity and having the correct tools to clean those instruments are some of the biggest challenges I see the SPD staff has to overcome to effectively prepare instrumentation for sterilization,” said Aaron Lieberman, Marketing Man- ager, Summit Medical. Summit Medical recently launched its InstruSafe Care + Maintenance product line. All of the company’s instrument cleaning products are gentle, yet effective, accommodat- ing even the most unique and delicate tools. Summit Medical’s General Purpose Brushes can be used on a variety of instruments. According to Lieberman, these brushes
are strong enough to remove anything the OR throws at them, yet delicate enough to leave equipment unharmed.
Visual inspection “One of the biggest
Summit Medical’s General Purpose Brushes
challenges CS/SPD staff face when it comes to successful decontamination is visual inspection of the inside of instru- ments that can be potentially soiled,” said Matthew Smith, Marketing Manager for Healthmark Industries. “There is virtually no way to determine if they are properly cleaned without specialized instruments. Healthmark recently introduced the FIS- 003 Flexible Inspection Scope to its Prosys Optical Inspection line of products. The FIS-003 features a longer 110cm flex- ible shaft with graduation marks. Like other flex- ible inspection scopes, it also includes a distal tip composed of a light source and camera lens at the end of the fl exible shaft. Designed for instruments 2.4mm in diameter or larger, inspection is easier on the interior of instruments with small diameters, including many fl exible GI endoscopes. The camera and light are powered by the USB connection on a PC.
Flexible Inspection Scope from
Healthmark Industries
Cleaning effi cacy Belimed Protect family line 30 July 2017 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
hpnonline.com
“The continued discovery of outbreaks associated with improperly cleaned medi- cal instruments highlights the importance of regularly testing mechanical cleaning units,” said Greg Sautter, Product Sales Manager, Serim Research Corporation. The PINNACLE Automated Enzymatic Cleaning Monitor (AEC) from Serim Re-
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