Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Special Edition: Infection Control - May 2020 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

Issue link: http://outpatientsurgery.uberflip.com/i/1245912

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 36 of 52

M A Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 7 E ndoscopes must be long, narrow and flexible to do their jobs. This also makes them extremely delicate and notoriously diffi- cult to clean. They can break in transport from the proce- dure room to the sterile pro- cessing area and can wear down from daily rounds of high-level disinfection. That's why a staff trained in how to properly clean, hang and dry these expensive devices is critical to making sure they're always in good working order and available for whenever your physicians need them next. Dirty-to-clean workflow The first step to guaranteeing an endoscope is properly disinfected the next time it's used is to begin treating it immediately after it's been withdrawn from the patient. Bedside cleaning in the endoscopy suite should consist of wiping down the external surface of the scope with a soap and water solution, and aspirating the cleaning solution through the scope's channels. Some cleaning solutions come pre-wet- ted, so you can perform this immediate-use cleaning without having Scope Reprocessing Starts at the Bedside Follow the essentials of endoscope disinfecting, drying and storage. • IMMEDIATE CLEANING Certified Surgical Technologist Ronda Vasquez wipes down the outside of a scope and flushes it with a soapy solution soon after it was used in the procedure room. Artesia General Hospital Randall Rentschler, RN | Artesia, N.M.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Special Edition: Infection Control - May 2020 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine