SPD Quality Assurance and Safety 2

Question 1

What is the purpose of a biological indicator (BI) in sterilization monitoring?

Accepted Answer

To verify the sterilization process killed a standardized population of highly resistant bacterial spores

Answer

Biological indicators contain known quantities of resistant bacterial spores and provide the most definitive proof that sterilization achieved lethal conditions.

Question 2

What should be done if a biological indicator returns a positive result (growth)?

Accepted Answer

Immediately recall all items processed since the last known negative BI, quarantine the sterilizer, and investigate the root cause

Answer

A positive BI indicates sterilization failure — all potentially affected items must be recalled and the sterilizer taken out of service until the cause is corrected.

Question 3

What is the Bowie-Dick test and when should it be performed?

Accepted Answer

A daily air removal test performed in the first empty cycle of pre-vacuum steam sterilizers to verify adequate air removal

Answer

The Bowie-Dick test verifies that pre-vacuum steam sterilizers effectively remove air from the chamber, as residual air prevents steam contact and sterilization.

Question 4

What is root cause analysis (RCA) in the context of SPD quality assurance?

Accepted Answer

A systematic investigation method used to identify the underlying cause of sterilization failures, contamination events, or near-misses

Answer

RCA looks beyond symptoms to identify the fundamental cause of quality failures, enabling effective corrective action to prevent recurrence.

Question 5

What are the key components of an effective SPD quality management system?

Accepted Answer

Comprehensive monitoring including process validation, ongoing testing, competency verification, documentation, corrective actions, and continuous improvement

Answer

An effective quality system integrates multiple monitoring approaches to ensure every step of reprocessing consistently produces safe, sterile instruments.

SPD - Sterile Processing Department Technician Certification Practice Test

SPD - Sterile Processing Department Technician Certification Practice Test

SPD Quality Assurance and Safety 2