ICCS Founder and infection control consultant Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, is a featured source in a new Outpatient Surgery Magazine article.
In the article, which identifies some of the latest infection control products and practices, Segal discusses nasal decolonization and rapid sterilization.
Access the article on infection control innovations.
Do you know that use of enzymatic detergents to clean instruments and devices in preparation for high-level disinfection and/or sterilization may require testing the temperature of water prior to use? The requirement to perform this important step is often missed if the instructions for use (IFUs) are printed on a brochure attached to the lid of the detergent bottle and are discarded by the user without reading. Several products include the instructions printed directly on the plastic bottle.
If a temperature range is noted, using a liquid thermometer is best. and ensure that you document the temperature with each premix. If there is no mention of optimum temperature, omit this step. Some products will note the following: “works in all temperatures” (see image below).
This tip is further support for always reading and following IFUs.
2019 will bring noteworthy changes to Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) standards. In a The Periop Life blog, AORN shares a few of the more significant guidelines changes that can be found in the 2019 edition of its Guidelines for Perioperative Practice and provides tips to help meet these new standards.
The changes highlighted in the blog are as follows:
Cover the sterile field
Identify how traffic is limited in your operating room
Assess your air handling system
The blog also notes that look and organization of the guidelines has undergone significant changes. Access the blog here.
Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS) anticipates additional changes and will share them if they are announced. Follow ICCS on LinkedIn so you don't miss new information and analysis.
Alleged lapses in proper infection control practices for instrument sterilization and cleaning and medication injections may have exposed nearly 3,800 patients at a New Jersey ambulatory surgery center (ASC) to bloodborne pathogens, according to news reports and a letter sent by the ASC to its patients.
The 3,778 patients who underwent a procedure at the ASC between Jan. 1, 2018 and Sept. 7, 2018, were informed that they may have been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
As a statement from the ASC notes, the N.J. Department of Health closed the center for three weeks in September 2018 because "some members of our staff were not following proper sterile processing procedures and failed to comply with other regulations regarding the dispensing and storage of medication, as well as infection control planning and procedures." To date, there have been no reports of any infections or illness related to the poor infection control and prevention practices.
When it was closed, the ASC stated it took several corrective actions, including improving its infection control and medication dispensing procedures, hiring and training new staff, and cleaning and repairing all instruments by an outside resource.
Unfortunately, as Infection Control Consulting Services (ICCS) noted in a recent special report on safe injection practices, such alleged infection control and prevention lapses continue to occur at healthcare facilities throughout the country. ICCS works with organizations, including ASCs, hospitals and outpatient care settings, to develop proper policies and procedures that comply with current rules, regulations and guidelines and help ensure staff follow appropriate processes that help keep patients safe. To learn more about what ICCS can do for your facility, contact us.
If your organization uses "Christmas tree" adapters, which connects the oxygen tubing to the flow meter, make sure you are not reusing single-use versions of these devices.
For these and all devices, ensure that if packaging states "single patient use" or "single-use only" or has the number 2 circled with a strike through it, you do not reuse and will discard/change the device between patients.
If your facility uses the stainless-steel, reusable version of the Christmas tree adapter, ensure that you have specific disinfection instructions from the manufacturer and accountability for cleaning between patients. This device is difficult to disinfect, hence a more common approach is to use disposables.