I purchased and used surgiband as our color-coding system of all medical, surgical and dental instruments. During one of the monthly infection control meeting, Our Chief infection control questioned me about the said system which according to him, the said system is already obsolete practice at present time, he added that the tape (surgiband) on the surgical instruments may holds bacteria, that lead to infection. I was not happy about his comments during the said meeting, instead i am now in the process of searching such reading materials to support the use of surgi-band in our Central Sterile Supply Department .... TY

JUN ESTRUCHE
CSSD Supervisor
Al Fanateer Hospital
Jubail, KSA

Dear June

Colour coding tapes are intended for the purpose of instrument marking - a system widely used for over 30 years. The Manufacturer has to validate the tape for its porosity for steam/gas penetration. Tests that sterility can be achieved on the instrument surfaces that are beneath the colour code tape have to be done by independent laboratories. To get verification of this facts contact the company that supplies the tape to you.
From my experience as a former CSSD Manager I have seen that people often apply the tap incorrectly. But it is crucial that it is done correctly - your tape manufacturer should provide you a protocol on how to apply it. Please see some general advices I gave on Question Q00422 on this issue.
In addition a process for routine inspection ands replacement of worn instrument tape should be implemented.
And - June, do ask your Infection Control Chief for documents stating that infections have been caused by taped instruments.We and the tape manufacturers would be very interested to be informed of such cases.

Kind regards
Josy Holdener

Dear Jun

It will be difficult to find literature that supports the use of color coding tape for surgical instruments. The use of this tape, although not banned is in debate, and should be considered with special care. Indeed, the tape may accumulate dirt, which is difficult to clean and detect. According to AORN answer in May 2004 online journal: “A process for routine inspection and replacement of worn instrument tape should be implemented. Color-coding tapes wear out rapidly. Pieces of the tape can break or flake, which could result in foreign bodies unknowingly being left in a surgical wound. Repeated sterilizations also can lead to shifts in the placement of the tape. Slippage results in the exposure of sticky tape residue that is difficult to remove. The tape should not overlap, because multiple layers of tape may not be permeated by the sterilant. A routine inspection process would ensure that these issues were noted and resolved in a timely fashion.”
In my department, we do not mark a full instrument set. Only single items or one item per set - to differ it from other sets.

I hope this helps,
Yaffa Raz