LINT-FREE WIPES; NOT JUST FOR ENDOSCOPES – ISSUE NO. 145

Lint-Free Wipes; Not Just for Endoscopes : I was sitting at my desk drinking a cup of coffee yesterday morning; the start of my Monday morning routine while I catch up on e-mails from the weekend. A co-worker walked into the office and greeted me. "Good Morning Matt," he said. I quickly turned to reply "Hello, how was your weekend?" and I accidentally spilled coffee all over my desk in the process. I looked for a paper towel, but I couldn't find one up on our floor. I searched my desk and found a sample of a Lint-Free Wipe that I happened to have in my drawer. I thought to myself, I wonder if this will work? I thought they were only made to wipe down flexible endoscopes after use and prior to terminal sterilization/disinfection. I figured, why not give this a try? I grabbed a lint-free wipe and swiped it across my desk. I was amazed on how much liquid the wipe picked up. It worked much better than your ordinary paper towel. I started reading about the Lint-Free Wipes and noticed that they aren't only meant for use on endoscopes, but also for the essential pre-cleaning and drying of other medical devices. In fact, these low linting wipes are to be applied immediately after patient-use of surgical instruments, and prior to terminal sterilization/disinfection. According to the Synthes' Instrument Guidelines, they recommend wiping blood and/or debris from devices throughout surgical procedures to prevent it from drying onto the surface: Click for Guidelines STRYKER also covered the topic of lint free cloths in their IFU's "...Dry the re-usable instrument using filtered, compressed air or clean, lint-free wipes." For more details click on this link. Using Lint-Free Wipes will help ensure that surgical instruments are properly reprocessed in compliance with the device manufacturer's instructions-for-use.