Assembling instrument trays wet.

[santa97]

Instrument trays are coming out of the washer disinfector way too wet. It has been determined there is a problem with the washer disinfector that needs to be fixed.

The area where the air is blown into the washer disinfector is blocked and just needs a better replacement part , so the drying portion of the cycle is affected & not doing its job. The time & temp & cycle are good, just need that new part. So, management is not in any rush to fix this.


So I have asked the staff people who work in there to please dry the tray & instruments before re assembling the trays. Well, I am told it takes too much time and it does't matter if the instruments trays are reassemble wet.

Often the trays, are put together wet on a Friday afternoon shift and will sit wet in the metal pan until Monday when the next load will go into the autoclave. (we are an ASC).

I know reasons why this should not be done, but everyone thinks I am nuts,
ie instruments rust, extra moisture in the autoclave, biofilms) I am a:)n old OR nurse just trying to do the right thing!:):):)

I need references to help present my rational for stopping this practice and get the washer disinfectors fixed, so the trays stop coming out so wet.

THanks in advance:):)

[Harvey Johnson]

AAMI ST 79 (purchasing a copy for your department is a good investment for best practices) section 7.5.6 states: instruments should be dried before packaging or sterilization.
A side note dicusses not drying lumens if they require moistening before sterilization.

[pixieduster]

Speaking of moistening lumens.... I am sure I may be a little confused. I follow the recommendations in ST79 and check manufacturer's instructions. However, can anyone tell me what should be the proper procedure for laparoscopic instruments? We used to use the "Detacha Tips" and after the final flush with distilled water the instructions simply were to follow with a syringe of air. (which would leave the inside moist). The new instruments we use now don't specify any "drying" so I have to try to find a happy medium between using the compressed air and keeping the inside somewhat moist.
Help! I believe in "wet before=wet after" also.

[wcj]

We had trouble with wet instrs coming out of our w/d. When we mentioned it to our rep. he checked the dry time(20 mins) and said it was okay. Then he checked the feeding lines to the washer and found that the lubricant was not putting enough liquid into the w/d. He said that the lubricant helps shed some water and the end cycle which means there is less moisture to get rid of. Since he has adjusted the flow we never have "wet instrs" anymore. Just thought I'd mention it.