Infection Control

President’s Corner The Point 69

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As President of the Association of Professional Piercers, I have a regular editorial column in The Point magazine. Issue 69 editorial Some of the most fundamental ideas about piercing are those that are most intriguing and still relevant to question. What materials are available now to make jewelry for initial healing and prolonged wear in the … Read more

Passing the buck on contaminated instruments, washer placement

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Original article: December 2014 – CS Solutions. How this applies to body artists: Start the cleaning process for instruments right away in the procedure area at the point of use by wiping them off and wetting them with a foam enzyme cleaner product such as the all-in-ONE™ Surgical Instrument Cleaners and Conditioners. Transport the instruments to an … Read more

“Didn’t Wash Hands” Alarm

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Didn't Wash Hands alarm, Gary Larson — The Far Side

Our friends at the CDC created a helpful website about hand washing, which is worth the time to read through. I particularly appreciate their “Show me the science” section. ;) How to make your own “Didn’t Wash Hands” Alarm | MAKE. Big brother says, “wash your hands” More on Germ theory by How Stuff Works: Related: … Read more

What is Aseptic Non Touch Technique ANTT?

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Aseptic No Touch Technique may be used in conjunction with sterile gloves as an alternative to full surgical asepsis for body piercing procedures. I demonstrated variations on this with colleagues during the Versatility in Piercing Techniques series of workshops for the 2014 APP conference. The following is from ANTT.org: What is Aseptic Non Touch Technique ANTT? ANTT is defined … Read more

Double pouching for sterile presentation? ATP use in CS? May 2014 – CS Solutions

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From May 2014 – CS Solutions.

Double pouching for sterile presentation? ATP use in CS?

by Ray Taurasi

Q The OR requires that Sterile Processing double peel pouches all items sent to them. They claim this is essential to allow for sterile presentation to the sterile field. I cannot find anything in AAMI or AORN recommendations stating this is necessary. I find it strange that they have no issues with commercially prepared items they use from manufacturers that are all single packaged. Why should there be different packaging standards for items sterilized in-house versus commercially sterilized items?

A There are no AAMI or AORN recommendations that state you must double peel pouch items for use in the Operating Room. Both AORN and AAMI state that you should follow the manufacturer’s IFUs for any packaging materials. Their recommendations also advise that if a hospital chooses to double peel pouch they must be sure that the manufacturer has validated their pouches for double pouching.

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11 Things You Should Know About Piercings

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“This article presented some sound information, but there’s still much more to know. When piercings are performed by a trained professional using sterile equipment and high quality jewelry, and appropriate aftercare is followed, the risks are drastically minimized.” — Elayne Angel, APP President

FDA Antiseptic sterility report

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Sterility of Antiseptic Products:

FDA Investigates, Deliberates on Potential Recommendations

(Infection Control Today, PDF)
FDA investigates Antiseptics Sterility and potential recommendations_Page_01

In light of a number of high-profile recalls of contaminated alcohol prep products in the last several years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently weighing whether or not to require sterility of patient skin prep products, specifically items such as alcohol prep pads used for injections, but it is not ruling out other surgical prep products.

On Dec. 12, 2012, the FDA held a hearing to receive expert testimony and public comment on how to address microbial contamination of these patient preoperative skin preparation drug products. It is a step in the ongoing investigational process that the agency is undertaking to determine issues related to sterility impacted by manufacturing processes.

An FDA spokesperson says that the panel members and FDA’s working group have received the submissions from the hearing and have been deliberating. FDA’s working group will be ready to make new recommendations in the coming months. The spokesperson adds that FDA’s working group has been soliciting clinician feedback from the FDA’s federal partners and other public health organizations, and that the agency will be ready to make new recommendations in the coming months.

Currently, patient preoperative skin preparations are not required to be sterile, since bacteria can contaminate these products at the time of manufacture or during product use. But because contaminated patient preoperative skin preparations have been associated with clinical infections and adverse outcomes, the FDA is exploring certain scientific and product-use issues related to patient preoperative skin preparations.

Patient preoperative skin preparations are over-the-counter (OTC) topical antiseptic drug products used to reduce the number of bacteria on the skin prior to medical procedures or injections. Although they are marketed predominantly to healthcare facilities, the use of these products extends beyond the healthcare facility setting.

Distilled water vs. saline soak; tears in wrapped sets; keeping instruments open for cleaning

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December 2013 – CS Solutions. More insightful answers to infection control questions from Ray T. Surgical instruments should not be soaked in saline. Saline contains chloride ions which can be very damaging to surgical instruments. These chloride ions are highly caustic and can cause pitting and deterioration to instruments. (See figures 1 and 2.) For support … Read more

Sacred cows in infection control

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SSI Prevention: Evidence-Based Practices Replace Lingering “Sacred Cows’ in the OR
This report explores the prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) within the context of evidence-based practices replacing “sacred cows” in the operating room. It focuses on the critical practice of preoperative hair removal.

When Thomas Paine noted in 1776 that, “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right,” he could not have imagined that he was describing a current tug-of-war that still exists in some operating rooms today.

Sponsorship for BMXnet 2013 infection control

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My company Piercers.com and I are pleased to sponsor a Statim autoclave for sterilization at this year’s event again! I will be there to educate and to learn, as well as to sell infection control equipment and anodizers. The Statim 2000 G4 is on the way, and the new Optim 33TB Blue version for surface disinfection as well. — at Unperfekthaus for the BMXnet … Read more