indicators

[germslayer]

:confused: where is it written or is it even written that integrators are suppose to be on the outside of a towel before wrapping (yes, there is one on the inside with the instrument)? This seems to be an on going issue with our OR, even to the point of WHEN we flash they want one on the top of the lid. PLEASE help!
Thank you, Diana

[pseabolt]

When we flash, we leave an indicator strip hanging out of the port on the flash pan so that the staff in the room can see immediately that it has turned.

We ran into an issue a few years ago with the large, multilayered ortho trays that have their own lids to them. We started putting an indicator on the top of that lid so that when the staff opened either the wrapped item, or the rigid container holding the tray, in the room the [B]first thing[B]that they would see was a turned indicator. The nurses and scrubs felt that if there was not an indicator in the center of the tray the opaque plastic lids on the multi layered pan would not allow them to see that until they had contaminated their whole field. It was more of a security blanket than anything. Could that be the issue at your facility?

[Angel]

At our hospital we have always puts one indicator in the tray and one on the top of the trays we even do the same when wrapping items.

[fkrizman]

Where this may add extra protection it is a little flawed. Just because an indicator turned on the top of a multilayered tray doesn't mean it has turned in the most challenging area of the tray. In most of the places I have worked those ortho trays are seperated from the rest of the field until the lid is off, the inside indicator is checked and the drape is checked for holes. If any errors are found the scrub then re gowns and gloves and the tray is removed from the room. This has happened.

Same thing goes with a flash.