Diretrizes aorn 2008

Recommended Practices for Sterilization in the Perioperative Practice Setting

T

he following recommended practices for sterilization were developed by the AORN Recommended Practices Committee and have been approved by the AORN Board of Directors. They were presented as proposed recommended practices for comments by members and others. They are effective January 1, 2008. These recommended practices are intended as achievable recommendations representing what is believed to be an optimal level of practice. Policies and procedures will reflect variations in practice settings and/or clinical situations that determine the degree to which the recommended practices can be implemented. AORN recognizes the various settings in which perioperative nurses practice. These recommended practices are intended as guidelines adaptable to various practice settings. These practice settings include traditional operating rooms, ambulatory surgery centers, physician’s offices, cardiac catheterization laboratories, endoscopy suites, radiology departments, and all other areas where surgery may be performed. References to nursing interventions (I) used in the Perioperative Nursing Data Set, second edition, (PNDS) are noted in parentheses when a recommended practice corresponds to a PNDS intervention.1 The reader is referred to the PNDS for further explanation of nursing diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes. Purpose These recommended practices provide guidance for sterilizing items to be used in the surgical environment. The creation and maintenance of an aseptic environment has a direct influence on patient outcomes. A major responsibility of the perioperative registered nurse is to minimize patient risk for surgical site infection. One of the measures for preventing surgical site infections is to provide surgical items that are free of contamination at the time of use. This can be accomplished by subjecting them to cleaning and decontamination, followed by a sterilization process.2