STERILIZATION Figure 1. Flow Diagram of Literature Search Results
• processing of medical devices that have been or poten- tially have been exposed to prions; and
• cost comparison and analysis of various methodologies. Refer to the AORN Guideline for Cleaning and Care of Surgical Instruments,4 Level Disinfection,5
Guideline for Manual Chemical High- Guideline for Flexible Endoscopes,6
Guideline for Selection and Use of Packaging Systems for Sterilization,7
the Surgical Suite8
related to the sterilization process. Evidence Review
A medical librarian conducted a systematic search of the databases Ovid MEDLINE®, EBSCO CINAHL®, Scopus®, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The search was limited to literature published in English from January
1062
and Guideline for Design and Maintenance of for guidance on these important topics
2012 through December 2017. At the time of the initial search, weekly alerts were created on the topics included in that search. Results from these alerts were provided to the lead author until February 2018. The lead author requested additional articles that either did not fit the original search criteria or were discovered during the evi- dence appraisal process. The lead author and the medical librarian also identified relevant guidelines from govern- ment agencies, professional organizations, and standards- setting bodies. Search terms included autoclave, biofilms, biological indi-
cators, biomaterial, burns, central services department, chemi- cal indicators, clinical quality measures, disinfectant agent, dry heat, dynamic air cycles, ethylene oxide, flash sterilization, gravity displacement, hydrogen peroxide, hydrogen peroxide gas, hydrogen peroxide gas plasma, immediate use, immediate use flash sterilization, immediate use steam sterilization, indi- cators and reagents, installation qualification, instrument
