Harboring Contaminants in Repeatedly Reprocessed Pedicle Screws

STUDY DESIGN: It consisted of evaluation of the pedicle screws for presence of residual nonmicrobial contaminants and tabulation of the minimum steps and time required for reprocessing implants as per guidelines and its comparison with actual practice. OBJECTIVE: An evaluation of the nonmicrobial contaminants prevalent on the pedicle screws used for spine surgery and the underlying practice cause behind the source. METHODS: The first component consisted of a random selection of 6 pedicle screws and its assessment using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The second component consisted of review of implant reprocessing guidelines and its applicability. RESULTS: Three types of contaminants were identified: corrosion, saccharide of unknown origin, and soap residue mixed with and were mostly present at the interfaces with low permeability. In addition, manufacturer’s guideline recommends 19 hours of reprocessing, whereas the real-time observation revealed a turnaround time of 1 hour 17 minutes. CONCLUSION: Repeatedly reprocessed pedicle screws host corrosion, carbohydrate, fat, and soap, which could be a cause of surgical site infection and inflammatory responses postsurgery. The cause behind it is the impracticality of repeated cleaning and inspection of such devices.