[prmenrs]

I would tell the Central Supply person that JACHO would expect proceedures recommended/endorsed by APIC to be followed.

I think Central Supply/Sterile Processing has an Association or Society of their own, but don't know what it's called. It probably has standards also.

[TrudyRN]

Originally Posted by jrring1019

Dental instruments are sterilized, would you go to a dentist that just washed them with soap and water? Yuck. I don't care that it is no longer sterile after it touches MY mouth, I just don't want anything left over from the last patient!

Also, everyone has a different standard when it comes to cleaning, right? One nurse may scrub and scrub until it is almost sterile, while another may just wipe it down.

Heck, why bother? What some phlegm between friends?


I totally agree with the scrubbing off of the debris and then using Cidex. Probably best to go over to disposable blades. In this day and age, I can't imagine using a blade on more than 1 patient.

[cotjockey]

We don't sterilize ours...we just scrub the heck out of them with a betadine scrub and rinse them off. I'm not sure why we don't sterilize though...maybe it's a cost thing...don't want to have to keep more than one set of blades around.

[jadje01]

OK I have to admit this caught my eye. And after reading everyones replys thus far I must agree with the others. When your in a life or death situation does it really matter. I do see the point you are trying to make however, as long as they are clean. They are not stored in sterile wraping anyways.

This Is a little gross when you think of it.

[Sabby_NC]

I dunno why but reading whether or not blades should be sterilized versus cleaned with soap and water made my tummy hurl.. LOL.. I guess if I was the one being intubated just revive me please but hmmmmm I may carry my own around with me LOL

[prmenrs]

Physically cleaning the blades and then placing them in Cidex for the recommended time (2 hours, I think) cold sterilizes them. Then place them in a clean bag (the type you would normally use for steam sterilization), and then into the crash cart or where ever you keep them.

Dentists for years didn't think they had to sterilize their equipment--until there was a horrendous outbreak of AIDS traced back to one particular dentist.

If your facility is not processing stuff according to some published standard (like APIC), I sure hope Risk Management knows so they can start saving up for one killer lawsuit.

I know, I know, "anything goes in a life or death emergency", but if the pt survives and then acquires Hep B, C, or some other potentially lethal virus, the hospital can expect to get sued.

[RunnerRN]

Originally Posted by jadje01

OK I have to admit this caught my eye. And after reading everyones replys thus far I must agree with the others. When your in a life or death situation does it really matter. I do see the point you are trying to make however, as long as they are clean. They are not stored in sterile wraping anyways.

This Is a little gross when you think of it.

Not picking on you, but I wanted to respond to the premise here.

In a code/resus situation, I don't sterilize med ports, often don't clean the skin as I should before IV insertion. That is, to me, acceptable. I can't
pre-clean the IV ports and have them ready and "sterile" just in case the pt codes.
We can, however, have sterile blades available for intubation. It isn't like we are rushing to grab the nearest set of blades that are dirty and don't have time to clean them. If that's the case then please tube me with dirty blades. But if the question is not wanting to take the time while the ED is quiet to clean the blades correctly (meaning the CS people, not the OP) then that is just laziness and nuts.

That's just my opinion, but it is the difference between preparation and chaos.

[SK-222]

while many of us(myself included) are going "ewwwwww" over this, a thought I just had - while a field or ER intubation is usually a life or death situation, what are the protocols on blades used in the OR when one is under for general anesthesia?

[cardsRN]

interesting discussion guys. at my facility we send the blades down for sterilization but they always come back to us in bags that are open.
oh well, at least they started out sterile and will remain clean. i agree with the previous poster who brought up different people's different standards of clean. i would think that if the facility has the policy of handwashing blades, there would be a written policy on what solution, how long to soak/scrub to avoid these variances. if not, maybe the OP can spearhead the development of one!

[mmutk]

Yeah I would deff agree that you would need to make an incident report on that and have a little consult w/ sterile processing.