5 4
S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT 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 | M AY 2 0 1 4
All surgical nurses and techs are taught to wipe the blood, tissue and other
debris off of instruments with a sponge and sterile water after they've been
used during a procedure. That way the items on the field can continue to be
used in the field. OR staff can provide a great deal of assistance to reprocess-
ing techs by taking the same action as soon as possible after a case con-
cludes, before they send the used instruments down to decontamination. This
cursory removal of visible soils goes a long way toward preparing them for
efficient and thorough reprocessing.
Keeping the instruments moist by covering them with a damp towel or,
even better, a treatment of enzymatic spray, foam or gel, can prevent the
remaining contaminants from drying on their surfaces, which can make them
more difficult to remove, and lengthen the time it takes to turn them around.
If it's possible, sending down used instruments organized into the trays in
which they arrived can also assist in reprocessing efficiency.
2. The rules are the rules
Every surgical instrument is different in material and structure. Some are heat-
sensitive, delicate, powered or plastic. Some have lenses, lumens, channels or
joints. One cleaning process does not fit all.
Once all of these devices arrive in the decontam room and have been sorted,
separated and disassembled, look to the manufacturers' instructions for use
(IFU) for the proper course of action for cleaning and decontaminating surgical
instruments and the containers and carts they came down in. IFU, for instru-
ments as well as for the machines you'll clean them in, are the leading evidence-
based practices of the sterile processing department.
Decontamination typically begins with a soak and manual wash in warm
water and detergent, followed by a rinse in distilled or de-ionized water.
Depending on the instrument being reprocessed, a cycle through a mechanical
washer-decontaminator or ultrasonic cleaner may follow before steam steriliza-
tion or high-level disinfection. For items that can't undergo high-temperature
R E P R O C E S S I N G
1405_InfectionControl_Layout 1 5/2/14 11:06 AM Page 54
