Michael
Suture Storage Struggles
Anybody who works in Sterile Processing can tell you that suture storage is tricky. There is often no standardization, no set PAR Levels, packaging sizes are constantly changing, and no process to manage suture inventory. Any combination of these issues ultimately causes your suture storage area to become inefficient and disorganized. There are tactics that…
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Total Organic Carbon: Is It Bioburden or Just Slime?
Total organic carbon (TOC) is a measure of the amount of “organic” carbon in the water. This does not mean organic, like organic vegetables. It means “organic” like in organic chemistry. I.e., compounds of carbon with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, etc. Where does it come from? It could be from vegetation rotting on the ground…
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Aseptic Presentation Protecting the Sterile Barrier of Peel Packs
A sterile barrier system, or peel pack, is used to maintain the sterility of, and present a product to the sterile field in an aseptic manner. The pack must maintain its full integrity throughout the continuum to ensure sterility. Factors that adversely affect sterile barrier integrity are crushing, dropping, stacking, compression, tears, holes, ruptures of…
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Demystifying Liquid vs Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide in SPD
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a small and simple molecule with a formula close to water but having somewhat different properties. Across industries, H2O2 solutions are used in many ways. For instance, in textiles it is commonly used as a bleaching agent, while in the aerospace industry it is known as a rocket propellant. H2O2 comes…
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