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Reprocessing of single-use energy devices: efficacy cleaning aspect

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2025

Cham Vu
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Yen Nguyen
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Thoa Trinh
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Huong Lu
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Van Thai
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Tam Duong
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Duy Nguyen
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Huyen Nguyen
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Thanh Tran
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Tran Nguyen
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Thuy Pham
Affiliation:
University Medical Center, HCM City, Viet Nam
Tuan Huynh*
Affiliation:
University Medicine and Pharmacy at HCM City, Viet Nam
*
Corresponding author: Tuan Huynh, MD., PhD. ((+84) 909.349.918; huynh.tuan@umc.edu.vn)

Abstract

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Objectives: Energy devices (EDs), such as Harmonic, Ligasure, Thunderbeat and Trocar are widely used in Minimally Invasive Surgeries. They are expensive and designed for single use. However, due to the limitation of resources, they have been reused in some cases. Therefore, we aimed to assess the efficacy of EDs reprocessing by Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) method. Methods: This was a cross-sectional description study. After first clinical using, EDs were taken to cleaning. Every ED was cleaned three times. Efficacy cleaning was assessed after each cleaning procedure by ATP method. ATP <200 RLUs (Relative Light Units) was benchmark as efficient cleaning process. Results: A total of 611 EDs were studied, including 269 of Harmonic, Ligasure, Thunderbeat, 298 of Trocar, and 44 other types. Detachable devices accounted for about 32.7%. Overall, after three consecutive cleanings, the median ATP values were decreased dramatically (957 RLUs, 160 RLUs, and 62 RLUs, respectively). This was a significant reduction in ATP levels between three stages (p < 0.05). There were 63.5%, 84.3%, and 92.8% EDs that had ATP < 200 RLUs after first, second, third cleaning respectively. Approximately 90% of EDs were still functional after three cleaning times. Nondetachable items were to be more difficult to clean than detachable ones (p = 0.0003, OR 1.3 [1.1 – 1.5]). Conclusions: Our data suggest that monitoring efficacy cleaning of surgical instruments in general and single-use energy devices in particular with ATP can identify a number of different influence factors, like the instrument condition, reprocessing procedure, or especially their structure. ATP measurement seems to be a valid technique that allows an immediate repeat of the manual cleaning if the results exceed the established cutoff of 200 RLUs.

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Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America