Central Service - Issue 1/2012
 NEWS UPDATE
- What's New in Standardisation: Rules for Standards
- Topics on the agenda in the United Kingdom: Report on the annual conference of the Institute of Decontamination Sciences held from 28 to 30 November 2011 in Blackpool
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
S. Caquas, C. Chapirot, A. Coquard, B. Dieu:
Using the T-DOCŪ software application to calculate sterilization costs
Abstract
New strategies for subcontracting, the development of single-use material, and the implementation of new legislation have made knowledge of the costs of sterilization services essential. At the University Hospital of Rouen, the comprehensive traceability of the sterilization process and the associated instrument traceability are assured by means of the T-DOC software application. Once vital parameters have been defined, the software's cost calculation functions enable the determination of specific product costs for each type of surgical goods. Costs are broken down into five categories: Usage, cleaning, sterilization, handling, and packing. The number of surgical instruments per box and the sterilizer volume are the main cost variation factors. For example, the cost of the total sterilization process for the abdomen and wall instrument trays of theuro-digestive surgical unit have been estimated as 16 EUR and 8 EUR excluding tax. The two-fold assessment of costs - per product and on the basis of process stages - is not only a steering tool for sterilization activities; in addition, it constitutes an opportunity for optimizing customer/supplier relationships.
FROM THE FIELD
Y. Uetera, K. Kishii, H. Yasuhara, N. Kumada, K. Moriya, R. Saito, M. Okazaki:
Evaluation of water quality in a single chamber washer-disinfector equipped with a reverse osmosis plant
Abstract
Water quality was twice evaluated in our washer-disinfector (WD) with reverse osmosis (RO) plant according to AAMI TIR34: 2007 Water for the reprocessing of medical devices: in December 2008 and March 2009. The aim was to clarify the water quality at various stages in the WD cycle.
Softened tap or hot-supply water is used for initial and intermediate rinsing in our WD. RO water is used for final rinsing. The water treatment system for RO water is disinfected chemically twice a year. Water quality was evaluated in the tap, hot-supply and stored RO water. Rinse water was also sampled from the chamber to evaluate water quality for the initial, intermediate and final rinse.
Tap water was of potable quality and contained endotoxin of 7.442 and 5.863 EU/ml, respectively. Hot-supply water was non-chlorinated and contained endotoxin of 39.823 and 22.160 EU/ml, respectively.
Softened tap water for initial and intermediate rinsing was of adequate quality except for a pH value of 8.7 measured only once. Endotoxin was 23.363 to 24.560 EU/ml in December 2008 and 13.410 to 13.487 EU/ml in March 2009. Softened tap water for initial rinsing was non-chlorinated. On the other hand, softened tap water for intermediate rinsing was chlorinated at 0.2 or 0.3 ppm, and colony counts decreased.
RO water was of adequate quality except for conductivity. Colony counts and endotoxin were as follows in the final rinse RO water sampled from the chamber before thermal disinfection: 224 CFU/100 ml and 0.524 EU/ml in December 2008; and 21 CFU/100 ml and 0.685 EU/ml in March 2009.
Endotoxin was unacceptably high in the softened tap water and non-chlorinated hot-supply water in comparison with the endotoxin content of tap water. Colony counts and endotoxin of RO water satisfied AAMI TIR34: 2007, probably because the water treatment system for RO water was disinfected periodically.
The present study suggested that water quality should be monitored closely in the management of WDs.
EDUCATION
P. Heeg:
Legionellae
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations by the «Quality Task Group»: Hand and Angled Pieces and Turbines - Part 1
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