In his Editorial, Christophe Lambert elaborates on this question and discusses the fact that there is still no “cleaning assurance level”. On this basis, single use appears to have a bright future.

The Congress of the German Society for Hospital Hygiene, which took place from 12 to 14 April as an online-only event, featured two sessions on medical device reprocessing. The first lectures dealt with reprocessing of thermolabile flexible endoscopes.

Part 4: Visual inspection, maintenance and functional testing of standard atraumatic clamps

Instruments baskets made from sheet metal (compared to wires) protect instruments better but drying and cleaning performance are frequently controversially discussed. This study compares drying of loads of 50 standard instruments in wire and sheet metals baskets under different drying temperatures and times, with and without rinse aid (different formulas and dosages). The weight difference is measured before and after cleaning in repeated cycles.

The Committee for Hygiene, Construction and Technology (FA HBT) of the German Society of Sterile Supply (DGSV) together with the DGSV board invited experts to meetings in 2016 and 2017 to discuss in detail the topic of control of environmental conditions in a Reprocessing Unit for Medical Devices (RUMED).