Why it’s critical to detect bioburden on surgical instruments

This article is a repost from the #IFUCan blog hosted on Linked In. The first two paragraphs are teased below, and the full article can be viewed by clicking here. By James Schneiter First of a two-part series The primary goal of surgical instrument processing is to minimize the risk of patient harm caused by an instrument that remains contaminated with bioburden and/or biofilm after surgical use and subsequent reprocessing. Achieving this goal begins with treatment at the point-of-use (as in the surgical suite or some area of the operating room) and it continues through all of the sterile processing steps prior to its eventual use on another patient. The responsibility to minimize patient risk from a contaminated device is especially critical when it comes to processing complex surgical instruments (e.g., instruments with lumens, corners, dead spaces, etc.) that rely on visual inspection to prove cleanliness. Continue reading here