ADVE RTI S ING F EATUR E
are now available in 30 countries worldwide with: l 1,000 units in the UK across 216 hospitals and clinics
l 1,600 units in total EMEA l 23,500 units in North America across 5,000 institutes, including all luminary hospitals
There are now more than 150 procedures that use ultrasound probes across a wide variety of healthcare settings, including but not limited to early pregnancy, gynaecology, fertility, cardiovascular, radiology, urology and emergency medicine.
Each of these caries a risk of cross- contamination between patients due to contact with mucous membranes, non-intact skin and/or sterile tissues. Whether or not an ultrasound probe requires sterilisation, HLD or low level disinfection (LLD) depends on its Spaulding Classification.2-4 For example, endocavitary probes (which include transvaginal ultrasound probes) are classified as semi-critical medical devices, meaning they require HLD between patients and the additional use of a sheath.1-3,5-17 Any ultrasound probes that come into contact with sterile tissues or the bloodstream are considered critical medical devices. Contact with sterile tissues can occur in procedures such as biopsies, scanning open wounds and intra-operative procedures. Many ultrasound probes cannot be sterilised and some guidelines permit HLD in lieu of sterilisation for critical probes so long as a sterile sheath is also used. 4,7 In a first of its kind, a large population study commissioned by national health authorities in Scotland revealed that there was an “unacceptable risk” of patient infection following LLD.
Almost one million people (982,911) were followed over a 6 year period via linked national health databases. Of these 60.698 patients underwent transvaginal (TV) ultrasound. Results showed that: - 41% of people in this group had a greater risk of infection than patients who had not undergone a TV ultrasound18
- 26% of these patients had a greater risk of antibiotic prescription in the 30 days following a TV ultrasound18
It is encouraging to see the growing number of Trophon devices being installed throughout the healthcare systems of the UK and Europe. The number of devices reflect the strengthening fundamentals for adoption seen as international guidelines show support for automated HLD practices. European guidelines, including those from the UK, recommend automated disinfection for semi-critical medical devices, including ultrasound probes.1,3,5,8,10,12-14,16
JANUARY 2022
When it comes to HLD, automation is recommended as best practice for several reasons.
Prevention of human error The first is the introduction of human error when manual processing is done, from error in the disinfection procedure itself to errors in record-keeping. In addition, manual processing and record-keeping can be time consuming and complex which may have a knock-on effect on patient workflow efficiencies.
Validated and reproducible results Automation provides greater reliability and reproducibility of the disinfection process for every patient.
It ensures the disinfection process achieves expected microbiological outcomes consistently and produces reliable documentation.
Traceability Finally, automation allows for digitised traceability capabilities. Traceability is essential to protect institutions and patients with documented evidence of effective HLD. Nanosonics recognises the need for continued education and support in this space, which is why they have supported the development of the Ultrasound Infection Prevention Toolkit, a free peer-reviewed resource brought to life by a collective of clinical decontamination experts in the UK and Ireland.
The kit contains four editable tools to assist with locating ultrasound probes, within an organisation, assessment of procedure-specific ultrasound policy and practice, the development of policies that can be implemented at various levels. Access the Ultrasound Infection
Prevention Toolkit at: www.
ultrasoundinfectionprevention.org.uk
Looking to the future, Nanosonics is pleased to announce that they have partnered with Soluscope, an Ecolab company, to provide exclusive distribution for the Soluscope Serie TEE probe washer- disinfector in the UK.
The reliable, fast and efficient device provides complete cleaning and disinfection to the machine function integrate leak test cycle in only 14 minutes and a single handling, reducing probe damage risks to a minimum. The addition of the Soluscope Serie TEE probe washer to the product offering in the UK will allow Nanosonics to continue to champion and support the adoption of HLD for ultrasound probes.
Up to 22 million patients are protected
every year from the risk of ultrasound probe cross-contamination by Nanosonics’ Trophon technology.
By transforming the way infection prevention practices are understood and conducted, Nanosonics seeks to deliver improved standards of patient care.
References for this article are available on
https://www.clinicalservicesjournal.com/ story/37298/from-0-to-1-000
Nanosonics Europe Ltd. Unit 2 Linfit Court, Colliers Way Clayton West, Huddersfield HD8 9WL United Kingdom.
Tel: 01484 860581
Email:
ukinfo@nanosonics.co.uk, Website:
www.nanosonics.co.uk.
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