The reuse of single-use medical supplies is not unheard of in veterinary medicine. Whether an established practice, cost-driven or to support environmental waste reductions, reusing single-use medical supplies is an accident or patient death, waiting to happen.
Emily Singler, VMD, and Kristen Green Seymour discuss the issues, cross-contamination, infection transmission and product integrity in this article. Consider it for protocol discussions in practice team meetings. Also, invite a distributor representative to review single-use supply options.
Source: AAHA Trends, September 19, 2025. Link. Everything from microscope slides to scalpels, suture, syringes, and laparotomy sponges have been known to be kept, sanitized or sterilized, and reused—despite clear indications that they were intended to be disposed of after a single use. Other commonly reused items that are manufactured for single use only include fluid bags, fluid administration lines, and anesthesia breathing circuits.
The reuse of medical supplies that were designed to be single use only is not uncommon, but it can have serious negative consequences.”
Related: Review sterilization best practices, AAHA Trends, June 17, 2026. Link.
Image: Link.
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