From the April 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Another way to help ensure infection control in the hybrid OR is to cover the fixed angiography system with customized sterile drapery. While various types of sterile covers are available for an angiography system, not all of them are customized to conform to a system’s unique shape, which is essential to help prevent exposed system surfaces from breaching the sterile field of the hybrid OR.
A third way to foster infection control in the hybrid OR is to obtain detailed information from the manufacturer regarding protocols to optimally clean and disinfect the angiography system. What types of cleaning materials are best suited to disinfect it, and are those same materials also appropriate for disinfecting the surrounding floor space? Are the steps required for intermediate disinfection of the system identical to procedures necessary for terminal disinfection? What is the manufacturer-recommended frequency for cleaning the angiography system — and with which tools and processes can a hospital verify the efficacy of the cleaning process?
Hospitals that raise these questions soon come to the sobering realization that the medical device manufacturing community as a whole has been late to the game in addressing these issues. Most vendors do not provide comprehensive documentation of system-specific cleaning and disinfection protocols. Expect that oversight to be rectified in an emerging era of health care where heightened sensitivity to HAIs is a hallmark of patient care.
Hospitals can help control the spread of HAIs in the hybrid OR by selecting angiography systems with hermetically sealed surfaces. The most vigorous cleaning and disinfection efforts can be undermined if bacteria find sanctuary in the crevices and nooks of hybrid OR equipment. By considering these points pertaining to infection control, hospitals can mitigate the rise of HAIs in the hybrid OR, better ensuring patient well-being as well as contributing to cost containment. In this rapidly changing and increasingly unpredictable health care landscape, achieving those twin goals is more important than ever.
About the author: Robert Dewey is vice president of Advanced Therapies, Surgery and Cross-Modality Solutions, at Siemens Healthineers North America.Back to HCB News
Robert Sprance
Where is the validation proof
April 11, 2017 11:05
I found this article self serving as the author is a Siemens representative and provides no validation documentation that breaking the airflow is the cause of HAI's. Every flat detector placed over the open site breaks the airflow regardless of manufacturer, including floor mounted systems. Detectors and overhead carriages can be moved in and out of the surgical field just as easily.
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