mhp stands for publications in medicine, hygiene and prevention. For more than 20 years, the mhp publishing house has devoted itself to supporting developments aiming for a better standard of hygiene and infection control in hospitals and other medical facilities.

Zentralsterilisation - Central Service

Sterile supply is a crucial component of all medical services. The journal Zentralsterilisation - Central Service aims to strengthen this prominent position. It has created a forum for all those who take an active role in everyday practice or research and development in this field. The well-balanced, reader-friendly content of the journal is composed of high-level scientific articles, reports from the field, recommendations of professional associations, relevant press items and news from the industry. In addition to promoting a multidisciplinary approach, Central Service facilitates international cooperation for a uniformly high standard in sterile supply by publishing all articles in both German and English.

From the very beginning, Central Service had served as the official publication of the European Society for Hospital Sterile Supply (ESH) and will in future be the publication of the newly founded International Federation of Sterile Supply (IFSS). Furthermore, upon its foundation in 1996, the German Society for Sterile Supply (DGSV) chose Central Service as its official journal.

In the last ten years, Central Service has become an integral part of national and international reference sources for questions concerning medical, technical and economic aspects of sterile supply. In this function it has greatly contributed to quality assurance in the prevention of nosocomial infections.

Central Service
Issue 2/04

EDITORIAL

Safety Culture - A Mere Congress Topic or Something Urgently Needed?

NEWS UPDATE

What\'s New in Standardisation: EN 13060 adopted
Special Issue of Central Service
Focus on the Liability Risks Faced when Processing Medical Devices. Fourth Hospitec Steri Meeting
Anton J. Schmidt New Chairman of the BVMed Board
Central Sterilising Club Meeting

MAIN ARTICLES

L Schnieder:
Classification of Medical Devices as per Annex 7 of the Guideline of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and Practical Consequences
(Zentr Steril 2004; 12 (2): 81-95.)

Abstract
Developments in the healthcare sector are making the service providers, such as the doctors and hospitals as well as the industrial companies providing healthcare services, face never-ending sets of new requirements. For example, all those working in this field are obliged to provide and ensure high quality in all respects. This includes, inter alia, implementation and compliance with all laws and directives as required by legislation and the state of the art. These include the Recommendation of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) governing hygiene requirements when processing medical devices. The recommendation published in 2001 is the prime focus of this present report. After a brief overview of the legal situation, the existing issues and problems will be dealt with, while explaining how this recommendation can be implemented. This report is also intended as a means of highlighting the importance of the RKI recommendation in the hospital setting, while at the same time serving as a guide when carrying out risk assessment and risk classification for medical devices as set out in the RKI recommendation.

M. Gattiker:
Legal Aspects of Medical Device Reprocessing Based on Swiss Law

J. Morgenstern, M. Bühler:
The Much-Discussed Multi-Functional Use of Bedpan Washer-Disinfectors

W. Michels, H. Frister:
The Modified OPA Method with an Alternative Thiol Component
(Zentr Steril 2004; 12 (2): 115-118.)

Abstract
The modified OPA method for measuring the degree of proteinaceous contamination has become a standard method employed for verification of cleaning following automated processing of instruments and has now also been included in prEN ISO 15883-1. The reagent N,N-dimethyl-2-mercaptoethyl ammonium chloride, which is used as a thiol component, is difficult to source. An alternative to this is 2-mercaptoethane sulfonic acid, readily available as sodium salt, which in the same manner yields reaction products photometrically detectable at 340 nm and with the same extinction values.

STERILIZATION BASICS

P. Hooper:
Where now?

RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE QUALITY TASK GROUP (AK »QUALITÄT«)

Mesh Trays and their Implications for Successful Cleaning in the Washer-Disinfector