A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 1 0 1
6
Secrets for Cleaning
Lumened Instruments
T
here's no margin for error in your central sterile process-
ing department, and that's a lot of pressure to contend
with every day. Add in the challenges associated with
flexible endoscopes, narrow-channeled phaco hand-
pieces and other notoriously tough-to-clean lumened
instruments, and it's no surprise that burnout and turnover are so
common among reprocessing techs. These 6 "secrets" to cleaning
lumened instruments may help to ease the pressure and eliminate
some of the situations contributing to reprocessing failures.
1. Start the reprocessing sequence in the OR. In reprocess-
ing, every minute matters, and epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, presi-
dent and CEO of Ofstead & Associates in St. Paul, Minn., says the
clock starts ticking in the OR, not central sterile.
"When an instrument sits up in the OR for a while, or if it's used
early in the case and hangs around until the case ends, the residue
Follow these tips to keep your central sterile processing department
running on all cylinders. Bill Donahue | Senior Editor
• REPROCESSING CHALLENGE Narrow-lumened
instruments and endoscopes have the highest risk
of being improperly reprocessed.
