A nurse is changing the dressing and accidentally drops the packing on

A nurse is changing the dressing and accidentally drops the packing onto the client’s abdomen. The client has a large, deep abdominal incision that is packed with sterile half-inch packing and covered with a dry 4  4 gauze. The nurse should:

1. Add alcohol to the packing and insert it into the incision
2. Throw the packing away, and prepare a new one
3. Pick up the packing with sterile forceps, and gently place it into the incision
4. Rinse the packing with sterile water, and put the packing into the incision with sterile gloves

ANSWER

ANS: 2
A sterile object (the packing) remains sterile only when touched by another sterile object. The client’s abdomen is not sterile; therefore, the nurse should throw the packing away and prepare a new one. The nurse should not add alcohol to the packing and insert it into the incision.
The packing is considered contaminated as it touched a nonsterile surface and should be dis-carded. The nurse should not rinse the packing with sterile water and put the packing into the incision as it is considered contaminated. It touched a nonsterile surface. The nurse should throw the packing away and prepare a new one.