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S H A R P S
S A F E T Y
used so they can be disposed of immediately,
empty the containers regularly and don't let
them become overfilled.
The reprocessing tech
A sterile processing tech prepares a tray of
used surgical instruments for the washerdecontaminater. The instruments are a tangled mess, with items simply piled in the
tray. The tech is wearing proper PPE,
although he's wearing only 1 pair of gloves.
As he tries to separate 2 instruments, he
catches his thumb on a Senn rake retractor,
which perforates his glove and punctures
his skin. The reprocessing department's
supervisor is unable to identify on which
patient the instruments were used.
N
ever underestimate or overlook
sharps injury risk in the sterile processing department. The dangers of
injuries sustained in the reprocessing area are
magnified because it can be difficult to trace
instruments back to which cases they were
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J A N U A R Y 2013
