Abstract: Objective: To investigate the current status of passive surgical instrument allocation and management in hospitals in China and provide a reference for developing standardized surgical instrument management protocols. Methods: From April to May 2024, a cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted covering 1343 hospitals across 28 provinces. The questionnaire assessed various aspects of passive surgical instrument management. Results: The average number of passive conventional and passive endoscopic surgical instruments sets per hospital was 50 (23,120) and 10 (5,25), respectively. The operating room was the primary department responsible for managing passive conventional surgical instruments and passive endoscopic surgical instruments. The Central Sterile Supply Department handled cleaning, disinfection, sterilization, maintenance, and inspecting of passive surgical instruments. A total of 483 (35.96%) hospitals had never conducted a comprehensive system inspection of passive surgical instruments, 584 (43.48%) hospitals regularly scrap passive surgical instruments, 1176 (87.57%) hospitals had an adverse event reporting system for passive surgical instrument. Conclusion: There is a lack of standardized guidelines for the maintenance, testing, and disposal of passive surgical instruments, and their management required further improvement. It is suggested to establish and promote standardized guidelines for the allocation and management of passive surgical instruments to achieve more precise and effective instruments management.

Key words: passive surgical instrument; operating room; configure; cross-sectional study