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Why Do ASCs Fail? - August 2015 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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3 0 O U T P A T 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 | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 Battling Biofilm Are your reprocessing practices up to the task? T he complex design of your endoscopes makes reprocessing them a challenging task, especially since the prescribed cleaning guide- lines are always vulnerable to human error. Are you doing enough, then, to protect these instruments — and your patients — from a cross-contamination risk that can withstand even the rigors of proper, thorough and repeated high-level disinfection? Beware of biofilm Many gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including those that colonize the GI tract, have the ability to form a biofilm. This sticky microbial slime adheres to any surface, particularly a wet or damp one, and hardens into a protective coating for the bacteria it sur- rounds. Once a biofilm forms on a surface, it's very difficult to remove, and because it resists the bactericidal activity of high-level disinfection, it lets the organisms inside live on. Bioburden and residual organic material left behind on improperly or inadequately reprocessed surgical instruments may spark biofilm formation. This can be particularly common, and particularly prob- lematic, in the multiple ports, channels and other intricate, difficult-to- I N F E C T I O N P R E V E N T I O N Charles Edmiston, Jr., PhD, CIC z BRUSH AND FLUSH Thorough manual cleaning is essential to prevent the formation, and near-permanent residence, of biofilm in an endoscope's lumens.

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