M A y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 3
A Look Inside Low-Temp Sterilization
6 points to keep in mind about
reprocessing heat-sensitive instruments.
Kevin Anderson, BSN, RN, CSSM, CRCST, CER | Wyandotte, Mich.
B
esides
not
know-
ing
how to
get there, the biggest
mystery about the
sterile processing
department might be
low-temperature steril-
ization. Allow me to
clear the air about
how heat- and mois-
ture-sensitive instru-
ments get back into
your ORs, sterile and
ready to use on the
next patient — but
perhaps not as quickly
as you'd like.
1. Why low-temp? Nothing destroys bacteria, fungi and spores like
steam sterilization, which is also the most cost-effective and simplest
sterilization method. But many of today's heat-sensitive instruments
can't withstand the higher temperatures or moisture of steam. Enter
low-temp sterilization.
• UNDER AN HOUR Shorter cycle times is one key benefit vaporized hydrogen per-
oxide sterilization has over over ethylene oxide.
Kevin
Anderson,
BSN,
RN,
CSSM,
CRCST,
CER
