Choosing the right reprocessing system for your Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) is crucial for ensuring patient safety and optimizing efficiency.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a significant clinical and financial burden, with many HAIs caused by inadequate decontamination and reprocessing of medical devices.
The CSSD plays a critical role in providing sterile devices for surgical procedures and selecting the appropriate reprocessing system is essential to minimize HAIs and improve CSSD efficiency, safety, and compliance.
There are various reprocessing modalities, including high-level disinfection (HLD), high-temperature sterilization such as steam, and low-temperature sterilization (LTS) like ethylene oxide (EtO) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) gas plasma.
Although convenient, HLD does not provide the highest margin of safety, potentially leading to costly HAIs while sterilization offers the greatest margin of safety to device reprocessing, yet conventional methods such as steam are not suitable for all devices, due to the materials used or their complex design. LTS modalities better maintain device integrity, however, each one is associated with potential limitations. For example, EtO and its residues are linked with acute and long-term toxicities and are carcinogenic. This can be avoided with Hydrogen Peroxide Gas Plasma Sterilization.
STERRAD™ Sterilization Systems utilize Hydrogen Peroxide Gas Plasma in a dry, low-temperature environment to sterilize medical devices, producing only safe byproducts.
What's in it for you?
- Enhanced Patient Protection: Ensure that medical instruments consistently meet top standards for cleanliness and safety, effectively reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and protecting patient well-being.
- Cost Efficiency: Improve your reprocessing system to address inefficiencies, cutting down on resource consumption and lowering operational expenses without compromising the quality of care.
- Faster Turnaround: Utilize advanced reprocessing technologies to speed up the availability of sterilized devices, ensuring they are ready for use in surgical procedures more quickly, which improves patient care overall.
- Regulatory Adherence: Stay compliant with stringent regulations by embracing the latest practices and technologies in infection control, ensuring you meet required standards and prioritize patient safety.