The simple term "infection prevention" includes a seemingly endless list of small tasks: disinfecting instruments, documenting sterilization, prepping patients' skin, complying with hand hygiene protocols. It's even more frustrating when you consider that no one aspect of prevention comes with an iron-clad guarantee to decrease the risk of surgical site infections in your facility.

But manufacturers appear to be taking steps to help make infection prevention not only more effective, but easier: They've found ways to automate manual cleaning; they've made testing methods faster; they've made hand hygiene and disinfection products more convenient to dispense and use. Read on to learn about the latest products in the battle against SSIs.

- Daniel Johnson, RN

3M
Attest Rapid 5 Steam Plus Test Pack
(800) 228-3957
www.3m.com/infectionprevention
List price: Not disclosed

If you want a quick, easy way to comply with recommended practices for monitoring steam sterilized implant loads, 3M has an answer. The Attest Rapid 5 Steam Plus Test Pack includes the 3M Attest 1292 Rapid Readout Biological Indicator, which provides results in three hours (compared with 24 hours for conventional BIs), and the Comply SteriGage moving front Class 5 integrating indicator, which provides immediate results and does not require color interpretation. The speed of these readings lets you quarantine every implant load as recommended until all results are available, while decreasing the incidence of delays.

Advanced Sterilization Products
EvoTech Endoscope Cleaner and Reprocessor
(888) 783-7723
www.sterrad.com
List price: Not disclosed

The first all-in-one washer and disinfector system for flexible endoscopes is now available, and an entire cycle takes just 30 minutes. The FDA has cleared the EvoTech for use with Advanced Sterilization Products' Cidex OPA Concentrate high-level disinfectant and Cidezyme GI enzymatic detergent. The machine's automated washing process replaces manual cleaning, which could help prevent healthcare-acquired infections; the standard, repeatable process meets or exceeds professional society guidelines for manual cleaning, says ASP. The EvoTech also checks for leaks and blockages at each cycle's start and conclusion; monitors channels independently for channel blockage and disconnection; and verifies cycle parameters to document each step of the process.

Civco Medical Solutions
Three-bottle Gel Warmer
(800) 445-6741
www.civco.com
List price: $130

This ultrasound gel and lotion warmer features an innovative coating that remains cool to the touch, won't enable a buildup of gel drips and spills and is corrosion-resistant. The tabletop unit warms up to three 250ml bottles at a time and is designed with a fused circuit so that it's safe for continuous use and doesn't require a water bath. In addition, the warmer will conveniently warm sterile gel packets. It has a hospital-grade electrical plug, operates on 110v, and features temperature limit and power switches.

Healthmark Industries
EndoCheck
(800) 521-6224
www.hmark.com
List price: Not disclosed

The EndoCheck is a chemistry kit used to check the cleanliness of biopsy channels in flexible endoscopes. Simply swab the channel with the long, cotton-tipped probe, clip off the cotton swab into the green-capped vial and mix in the activating agent. Shake vigorously and wait 20 seconds. If the color changes to blue-green, you know at least 0.1mcg of blood residue remains in the channel.

HoverTech International
Heat-sealed HoverMatt
(800) 471-2776
www.hovermatt.com
List price: Not disclosed

In addition to being a safe way to move patients - repositioning is as simple as inflating or deflating this HoverMatt until a patient is at the right level - the device is heat-sealed to prevent infections. Because its design eliminates needle holes and sew lines, microorganisms cannot make their way inside the transfer mat to grow. A simple wipe down with disinfectant addresses concerns of infection by cross-contamination. In addition, the heat-sealed HoverMatt is designed to cradle patients for extra comfort, and it comes with straps to help secure the limbs and head.

Kimberly-Clark Healthcare
InteguSeal Microbial Sealant
(800) 742-1996
www.kchealthcare.com/ssi
List price: Not disclosed

This innovative microbial barrier reduces the risk of skin flora contamination throughout a surgical procedure by sealing and immobilizing pathogens to help protect against migration into an incision, according to Kimberly-Clark. Applied to the area surrounding the operative site after a patient's skin has been prepared for surgery, but before the incision has been made, InteguSeal is said to be fast-drying. The film created by the application bonds to skin surfaces with different curvature, hair content or amount or flora types present; it can be used with a variety of skin-prep treatments and surgical devices, such as electrocautery, suture, staples and wound adhesives; and doesn't need to be removed for suturing.

Medline
Sterillium Comfort Gel
(800) MEDLINE
www.medline.com
List price: $322 for 45 100ml personal size containers; $473 for 20 475ml tabletop pumps; $406 for eight 1,000ml wall dispensers.

Sterillium Comfort Gel is a handwash for healthcare personnel intended to complement the effects of Sterillium Rub surgical hand rub and is formulated with proprietary moisturizing technology used to support commercial skin care brands Eucerin and Nivea. As a result, Medline says, while the alcohol content is higher, Sterillium Comfort Gel is gentle on the skin, making it an optimum choice for hand disinfection. The company says its research indicates that the product delivers the highest bactericidal effect within the first 15 seconds of any available product and that it increases skin hydration by 14 percent after just two weeks' use.

Metrex
EmPower Foam
Touch-n-Spray Trigger
(800) 841-1428
www.metrex.com
List price: Not disclosed

Designed for use with the company's EmPower Foam, the Touch-n-Spray Trigger is used for delivering a continuous and thick layer of foam onto instruments during the pre-cleaning phase of reprocessing. The one-touch trigger is battery-operated, eliminating the aching hands or wrists that result from conventional pump-action designs.

Olympus and PCI Medical
Endo-Flush Endoscope Flushing Pump EFP250
(800) 848-9024 or (800) 862-3394
www.olympusamerica.com/cds or www.pcimedical.com
List price: Not disclosed

The Endo-Flush Endoscope Flushing Pump EFP250 is a fast, safe device that replaces syringe flushing with a device that automatically flushes your scopes' internal channels with detergent, water and air, making cleaning a more repeatable, consistent process and freeing staff from manual syringing. You activate the EFP250 simply by touching the start/stop button. All channels can be flushed simultaneously in 90 seconds; channel lines are color-coded for easy matching of the lines with the scope's inputs. The system's compact size enables wall-mounting or countertop use.

Sage Products
2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloth
(800) 323-2220
www.sageproducts.com
List price: Not disclosed

To help ease skin preparation before surgery, Sage Products offers the only rinse-free CHG skin prep in an applicator cloth. Unlike bottled solutions, each 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate Cloth delivers a uniform dose equivalent to 500mg of CHG that stays active on the skin for six hours after application. Effective against prevalent SSI-causing pathogens, it also quickly kills 99.9 percent of drug-resistant bacteria. The packaging was designed with patient compliance in mind. Each package includes Prep Check, a peel-and-stick label that helps verify early patient prepping before surgery.

Smith & Nephew
Acticoat Site
(800) 876-1261
www.smith-nephew.com
List price: Not disclosed

This silver-coated anti-microbial barrier dressing is specifically designed to help manage infection risks around IV lines, central venous catheters and external fixation sites. With its circular shape, central opening and slit, Acticoat Site is easily placed around percutaneous insertion sites, says Smith & Nephew. It provides excellent absorption and can be left in place for up to seven days for continuous anti-microbial activity. If you're having issues with SSIs and wound infections, this could be something to add to your center.

Sterile Containment Technology
One Tray Sealed Container System
(510) 412-6383
www.onetray.com
List price: $1,000 to $1,380

These trays are validated for four-minute processing of a 25-lb. gross weight load in a pre-vacuum cycle at 270'F, says the company. The system allows for the routine performance of just-in-time reprocessing of surgical instrumentation in response to unpredictable demand.

Steris Corporation
Reliance Endoscope Processing System
(800) JIT-4-USE
www.reliance-eps.com
List price: $38,650

The Reliance Endoscope Processing System, a high-level disinfection system designed to deliver consistent and repeatable results, is said to be simple to load and operate, processing two flexible scopes in under 30 minutes. It kills even the most challenging organisms, provides pre-programmed decontamination cycles to prevent biofilm formation in the processor and cleans itself when you activate the automated decontamination cycle, says Steris. In addition, the Reliance EPS reduces chemical exposure by generating germicide in a closed, automated process.

Sultan Healthcare
Surflets Disinfectant Tablets
(800) 637-8582
www.sultanhealthcare.com
List price: $81.00 per box or $5.06 per in-use quart of disinfectant solution.

Two Surflets disinfectant tablets make 32 oz. of solution that provide hospitalgrade, intermediate-level disinfection in just five minutes.

The versatile formula contains no alcohols or phenols and can be used to disinfect multiple surfaces as an instrument pre-soak and in ultrasonic machines. Sealed in an easy-to-dispense blister package, the tablet mode of delivery saves valuable storage space and helps reduce shipping costs.

TissueSeal
Histoacryl
(877) SKIN-GLUE
www.tissueseal.com
List price: Not disclosed

A new choice for wound closure, Histoacryl is a topical skin adhesive with more than 40 years' international use. This sterile, liuid, topical skin adhesive is available in two formulations: Histoacryl and Histoacryl Blue. The former is translucent, and the latter contains a blue dye in order to make it easier to see during application. Both polymerize in seconds upon being exposed to water or water-containing substances, such as human tissue. Only a single layer of adhesive is needed to achieve a full-strength bond. Histoacryl acts as a natural barrier to microbial penetration as long as the protective adhesive film is intact, and sloughs off naturally over seven to 10 days, says the company.

More New Products For Your Infection Control Needs

Cygnus Medical
Caterpillar Channel Brush
(800) 990-7489
www.cygnusmedical.com
List price: $2 each

Flexible endoscope brush that is pulled instead of pushed.

Ecolab
Endure Revitalizing Skin Lotion and Creme
(800) 277-1255
www.ecolab.com
List price: Not disclosed

CHG- and glove-compatible moisturizer that rebuilds skin's barrier function.

Kimberly-Clark Professional
Hand Hygiene Voice Module
(888) 346-GOKC
www.kcprofessional.com/us/mkt/HandHygieneVM
List price: Not disclosed

Battery-powered device that reminds staff to wash hands.

MedicCleanAir
Pro Mobile HEPA Unit
32-3-860-70-60
www.mediccleanair.com
List price: Not disclosed

Portable air purifier for all airborne contamination.

Sultan
Healthcare
Soaplets Antibacterial Foaming Hand Soap
(800) 637-8582
www.sultanhealthcare.com
List price: $60.50 per box or $10.08 per 17 oz. bottle.

Concentrated tablets that create 17 oz. of soap that is pleasant to use.