The Guideline for Sterilization Packaging Systems was approved by the AORN Guidelines Advisory Board and became effective as of November 21, 2024. Information about the systematic review supporting this guideline, including the PROSPERO registration number, systematic review questions, description of the search strategy and evidence review, PRISMA 2020 flow diagram, evidence rating model, and evidence summary table is available at https://www.aorn.org/evidencetables/.
This document provides guidance to perioperative personnel for evaluating, selecting, and using sterilization packaging systems and for packaging the items to be sterilized and subsequently used in operative and other invasive procedures. Packaging systems are designed to permit sterilization of the contents within the package, protect the integrity of the sterilized contents, prevent contamination of the contents until the package is opened for use, and permit the aseptic delivery of the contents to the sterile field. Packaging systems include woven fabrics, single-use nonwoven materials, paper-plastic pouches, polyethylene material-plastic pouches, and rigid containment devices (eg, sterilization containers, instrument cases, cassettes, organizing trays) composed of a variety of materials. This guideline does not include recommendations for high-level disinfection, liquid chemical sterilization, processing flexible endoscopes, cleaning contaminated instruments, inspecting instruments, loading a sterilizer, sterilization, or aseptic presentation at the point of use.
Refer to the AORN Guideline for Cleaning and Care of Surgical Instruments,1 Guideline for Manual High-Level Disinfection,2 Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes,3 Guideline for Sterilization,4 Guideline for Sterile Technique,5 and the packaging system manufacturer’s instructions for use (IFU) for more information.
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