This document provides guidance to perioperative personnel for evaluating, selecting, and using packaging systems and for packaging the items to be sterilized and subsequently used in operative and other invasive procedures.
AORN members and partners are encouraged to review and comment prior to June 9.
Opinions – and even scientific medical studies – differ greatly on how best to store surgical instruments. For example, one scientific study, funded by Halyard Health and published in the American Journal of Infection Control, on the effectiveness of rigid containers versus wrapped instrument trays in protecting instruments from contamination has generated much dialogue — and many questions.
Researchers found 87 percent of the rigid sterilization containers tested did not maintain sterility through transport and handling, compared with 100 percent of the wrapped trays.
As one might suspect – comments provided to HPN regarding the study’s findings from CS/SPD professionals, and wrap and container manufacturers differed.
