Sterilization & CSSD
CSSD
Also called: Central sterile services department, SPD, CSSU
CSSD — Central sterile services department — the hospital unit that cleans, inspects, packs, sterilizes and issues reusable medical devices.
A CSSD runs the decontamination cycle for surgical instruments and other reusable devices: collection, cleaning and disinfection, inspection, assembly, packaging, sterilization, storage and issue to theatres and wards.
Its main consumables are packaging (reels, pouches, wraps), sealing tape, chemical and biological indicators and the daily Bowie-Dick test, each chosen to match the sterilization processes the department runs.
Related termsSterile barrier systemChemical indicatorBowie-Dick test
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