Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Special Outpatient Surgery Edition - Infection Control - May 2018

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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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

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