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S T E R I L E
P R O C E S S I N G
items without lumens. Ten minutes is the standard if an item has a
lumen or is porous. Temperature should be 270° to 275°F, with 0 or 1
minute of drying time.
• Dynamic air removal/pre-vac sterilization. Three minutes for
metal or nonporous items at 270°F to 275°F. Metal items with lumens
and porous items are processed at 270°F for 4 minutes or 275°F for 3
minutes, with no drying time.
It's important that your vendor be able to provide validation for your
flash containers' sterilization parameters. Ask about it; nurses need to
combine science and care in their roles as patient advocates.
3. Rigid closed containers
Both the AAMI and AORN standards specify that you must use rigid
closed containers "designed and intended for flash cycles." You must
purchase containers designed for flash sterilization and the manufacturer must provide independent clinical validation studies that verify
the product meets AAMI and AORN standards of practice.
When the facility I work with recently bought a new group of flash
containers, we looked for ease of use, and we wanted a variety of
sizes, to give us the flexibility to flash everything from small ophthalmology instruments to entire ortho/spine sets. We also didn't want
moving parts that required frequent maintenance or extra steps. The
point of flashing is rapid turnaround, and our nurses and techs didn't
want extra manual steps to slow the process.
N O V E M B E R 2012 | 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
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