Safety check for sterility

Introduction: The use of 3D-printed aortic models for the creation of surgeon-modified endoprostheses represents a promising avenue in aortic surgery. By focusing on the potential impact of sterilization on model integrity and geometry, this report sheds light on the suitability of these models for creating customized endoprostheses. The study presented here aimed to investigate the safety and viability of 3D-printed aortic models in the context of sterilization processes and subsequent remodeling. Methods: The study involved the fabrication of 3D-printed aortic models using patient-specific imaging data and established additive manufacturing techniques...

Background: The timely initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is crucial for providing life support. However, delays can occur when perfusionists are not readily available. The Jena Method aims to address this issue by offering a wet-primed ECMO system that can be rapidly established without the perfusionist's presence. Methods: The goal was to ensure prompt ECMO initiation while maintaining patient safety. The method focuses on meeting hygienic standards, safe primed storage of the circuit, staff training, and providing clear step-by-step instructions for the ECMO unit...

PURPOSE: This study attempted to assess the perceived importance and performance of patient-safety nursing among operating room (OR) nurses and to identify the "concentrate here" level using importance-performance analysis (IPA). The goal was to identify the educational priorities of patient-safety nursing and to use it as foundational data to develop educational programs. METHODS: The IPA of patient-safety nursing (infection control, patient identification, specimen management, surgical coefficient, medical equipment and supplies, high-alert medicines, and damage prevention) was surveyed online for nurses in general hospitals in Korea, and the data of 47 participants were analyzed...

This study aimed to reduce instrument packaging defects in the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) using action research. Data of the instrument packs packaged by the packaging personnel at the CSSD of the authors' institution during March to May 2023 were collected and analyzed. After identifying the problems, 2 rounds of cyclic process of "plan-action-observe-reflect" were implemented to standardize the packaging procedures and develop and improve the applicable check of standard operating procedures for the CSSD...

The methacholine challenge test (MCT) is a standard evaluation method of assessing airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and its severity, and has significant clinical value in the diagnosis and treatment of bronchial asthma. A consensus working group consisting of experts from the Pulmonary Function and Clinical Respiratory Physiology Committee of the Chinese Association of Chest Physicians, the Task Force for Pulmonary Function of the Chinese Thoracic Society, and the Pulmonary Function Group of Respiratory Branch of the Chinese Geriatric Society jointly developed this consensus...

Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) is an important pest of cruciferous plants, which is harmful all over the world, causing serious economic losses, and its drug resistance is increasing rapidly. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a green control method and does not cause resistance. In this study, transcriptomics and bioinformatics were used to explore the effects of irradiation on the reproductive function of Plutella xylostella, and the response mechanism of sterility under irradiation was initially revealed...

BACKGROUND: Compliance with dialysis fluid ultrapurity standards is a paramount for online modalities. More than 200 dialysis fluid samples have been analyzed monthly for years in our two dialysis units, with compliant microbiological results until mid-2020. AIM: In mid-2020, an unusual occurrence (30%) of contaminated dialysis fluids in dialysis units led us to investigate to determine the source. METHODS: Microbiological methods for aquaphilic bacteria culturing and endotoxin detection in dialysis fluids were routinely performed on a monthly basis for all dialysis machines...

An erratum was issued for: Eyestalk Ablation to Increase Ovarian Maturation in Mud Crabs. The Introduction, Protocol, Discussion and References were updated. The forth sentence in the third paragraph of the Introduction has been updated from: The eyestalk ablation protocol in this work minimizes stress by using fully sedated crabs and minimizes physical injury to personnel from crab bites.  to: The eyestalk ablation protocol in this work minimizes stress by using fully anesthetized crabs and minimizes physical injury to personnel from crab bites...

PURPOSE: Utilization of technology-assisted workflow (TAWF) systems has gained popularity in the sterile compounding setting. This study was designed to evaluate whether safety and efficiency could be seen when preparing oral controlled substance doses gravimetrically vs volumetrically. METHODS: This 2-phase observational study combined manual data collection with automated logs generated by a single TAWF. During phase I, oral controlled substance solutions were prepared volumetrically...

Radiation is an example of one of the techniques used for pasteurization and sterilization in various packaging systems. There is a high demand for the evaluation of the possible degradation of new composites, especially based on natural raw materials. The results of experimental research that evaluated the impact of radiation technology on biodegradable and compostable packaging materials up to 40 kGy have been presented. Two commercially available flexible composite films based on aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters (AA) were selected for the study, including one film with chitosan and starch (AA-CH-S) and the other with thermoplastic starch (AA-S)...

Objective: Accuracy checks are required by United States Pharmacopeia Chapter <797> to ensure patient safety when dispensing compounded sterile products (CSP). Despite the importance of this task, reports of training pharmacy students to perform CSP accuracy checks are lacking. This study aimed to (1) report a method for teaching CSP accuracy checks to students and (2) determine if increased content time and intentional focus on this skill would improve student performance in a simulated hospital environment...

INTRODUCTION: With its suitable nuclear decay characteristics and large-scale production feasibility with adequate specific activity, 177Lu is regarded as an excellent radionuclide for developing bone pain palliation agent. Ethylenediamine-tetramethylenephosphonic acid (EDTMP) is a preferred carrier molecule for radiolanthanides such as 177Lu. The present paper describes the synthesis of EDTMP and the development of a ready-to-use kit for the preparation of 177Lu-EDTMP and its quality control in accordance with the quality and safety criteria required for medicinal use...

DISCLAIMER: In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. PURPOSE: Interventions to improve the safety and efficiency of manual sterile compounding are needed...

As an important section for controlling hospital infection, the main responsibility of the sterilization supply room is to clean, disinfect, sterilize, store, and distribute all medical devices that need to be reused in the hospital, and the quality of its work is closely related to the normal work of the hospital. Disinfection and supply department is the premise and foundation of the hospital department, mainly responsible for the recovery, cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, storage, and distribution of medical devices...

A Hotline® fluid warmer is a device commonly used by anesthesia providers in the operating room to warm and infuse blood products and large fluid volumes. The purpose of the fluid warmer is to counter heat loss, which occurs under anesthesia. Despite normal checks performed prior to its use, we discovered a breach in the fluid warming set attached to the Hotline® fluid warmer during blood administration. The breach contaminated the patient's sterile intravenous line. We describe the quality and safety processes we undertook in detail...

The World Health Organization has strict rules and recommendations on the selection and use of cell substrates in laboratories. Given the widespread use of safe and secure cell substrates in the production and quality control of viral vaccines and also the high demand for vaccines against viral diseases, obligating the selection of a suitable cell substrate for cultivation and production of biological products. Animal cell lines play a valuable role in the preparation and propagation of viral seeds; thus, the current study used the BHK-21 cell line among others for viral checking with the aim of replacing the BHK-21 C5 cell line with the RK13 cell line to investigate the cytopathic effects of the rubella virus...

Pharmacists began preparing drug solutions intraoperatively for postoperative analgesia in the Department of Surgery at Chiba University Hospital from May 2014. To verify the usefulness of pharmacists preparing these drug solutions, we conducted a questionnaire survey among 51 anesthesiologists and received 44 responses (recovery rate 86.3%). Burden on the anesthesiologists was significantly reduced both temporally and mentally when the pharmacists prepared the drug solutions compared with when the anesthesiologists did (p<0...

Medical device made to measure by 3D printing are now emerging in hospital. In order to improve the precision of surgery and facilitate the treatment of complicated cases, patient specific surgical guides for dental implantology are made by stereolithography in our facial surgical unit. This new activity requires to ensure the safety of patients and health personnel by validating the various step of the manufacturing circuit. In this context, the goal of this work was to study the quality of autoclave sterilisation of the patient specific surgical guide made to measure in our hospital...

INTRODUCTION: Scarcity of operating rooms and personal protective equipment in far-forward field settings make surgical infections a potential concern for combat mortality and morbidity. Surgical and transport personnel also face infectious risks from bodily fluid exposures. Our study aimed to describe the serial, proof-of-concept testing of the SurgiBox technology: an inflatable sterile environment that addresses the aforementioned problems, fits on gurneys and backpacks, and drapes over incisions...

BACKGROUND: An external herbal dispensary (EHD) is a type of pharmacy that provides various types of personalized herbal medicines (PHMs) to other traditional Korean medicine (TKM) institutions. Such dispensaries were legalized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) in 2008 in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to understand the current status of the EHD facilities and their quality controls and compare them with the good manufacture practice (GMP) guidelines to contribute to the establishment of the safety and quality control criteria for PHMs...