A positive BI hits and the clock is ticking. Play 8 quick rounds on sterilization recalls, FDA recall classes, and the exact first move the exam expects.
Pick the correct first move:
The exact recall mix-ups the CRCST exam loves to test.
Nothing from a positive-BI load is used or released. Quarantine the load, notify the OR and infection prevention, then track down every item by lot control number.
Implant loads are not released until the BI reads negative. Early release only happens in a documented emergency with surgeon and infection prevention sign-off. A positive BI means those implants are never used.
Moisture can carry microorganisms through the barrier, so a wet pack is pulled and reprocessed, and the cause gets investigated. Never leave it on the shelf to air-dry.
A pack with no external process indicator is treated as unprocessed and goes straight back to decontam. You never add tape after the fact and release it.
Every pack carries its sterilizer, cycle, and date in its lot control number. That trail is how you find affected items on shelves, carts, and in procedure rooms, and it anchors all recall documentation.
Class I: reasonable probability of serious harm or death. Class II: reversible harm, or serious harm is only a remote probability. Class III: not likely to cause adverse health consequences. One is worst, three is mildest.
Quarantine the load immediately. Nothing from that load is used or released. Then notify the OR, infection prevention, and your supervisor, and begin locating every item from the load using its lot control numbers.
Implants stay quarantined until the BI reads negative. Early release happens only in a documented emergency, with surgeon and infection prevention approval and full documentation. If the BI goes positive, the implants are never used.
A wet pack is considered unsterile, always. Moisture can wick microorganisms through the barrier, so the pack gets pulled, the cause is investigated, and the contents are reprocessed. Never let it air-dry on the shelf.
Recall those loads and take the sterilizer out of service until the air-removal problem is found and fixed. A failed daily test calls every load run in that unit into question.
Class I means use of the device has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death. Class II means the health effects are reversible or there is only a remote probability of serious harm. Class III means use is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.
Every pack and load carries a lot control number that traces exactly which sterilizer, cycle, and date it went through. That trail is how you find every affected item on shelves, carts, and in procedure rooms, and it becomes the backbone of the recall documentation.
Want the full exam simulation? Try the free practice questions or the Sterile Squad game.