Flash Sterilization Standards

Usually, before medical instruments are used on a patient (e.g. for surgery), hospital staff carry out a detailed and well-documented sterilization process. However, sometimes in an emergency it is necessary to forgo this somewhat lengthy process and "flash sterilize" the instruments quickly. As this can be risky for the patient, it is important to have standards in place for this kind of situation.

Circumstances

• Flash sterilization should only be used in an emergency. A shortage of instruments does not qualify as a reason to flash sterilize. Furthermore, flash sterilization should never be used for devices that are to be implanted in the patient (e.g. a pacemaker).

Documentation

• If flash sterilization is used, it is recommended that a special record be created for each instrument sterilized in this way. The record should contain the following information: the patient's name, the procedure, the date, hard copies of monitor displays during the procedure, the reason for flash sterilizing, the hospital staff involved and the ID of instrument that was flash sterilized.

Other Factors

• According to the Canadian Standards Association, an internationally-recognized provider of industry standards, flash sterilization should only be used in conjunction with other best practices, including effective quality control, infection control and efficient facility design.