To investigate the effectiveness of centralized management of surgical instrument packs stored in the central sterile supply department (CSSD) to clarify the role of this management model in ensuring sterile pack quality, optimizing retrieval efficiency, and controlling infections, thereby providing superior solutions for hospital sterile item management.

7,302 surgical instrument packs stored in the operating room from January to May 2023 were selected as the control group, and were managed by the operating room using the conventional storage, inspection, and retrieval procedures, while 7,343 surgical instrument packs stored in the CSSD from January to May 2025 were selected as the observation group. The CSSD adopted a centralized management model, by improving the storage rack structures tailored to instrument pack requirements, upgrading the information traceability system, implementing the labeling management, adherence to the “first-in-first-out” principle, and enhancing full-process control via information technology. Key management indicators included sterile pack rupture rate, expired pack incidence rate, retrieval time, and manual contact frequency.

The observation group exhibited a rupture rate of 0.8% (vs. 3.6% in the control group) and zero expired pack incidence (vs. 1.2% in the control group). Retrieval time was significantly shorter [(17.85±6.49)s vs. (27.61±5.72)s in the control group)], and manual contact frequency was markedly reduced [(2.0±0.8) times vs. (5.0±2.0) times)]. All differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).

The CSSD adopts centralized management combined with process optimization and information-based traceability for surgical instrument packs, which can significantly enhance safety management levels, substantially reduce pack retrieval time, contribute to medical safety assurance and improve work efficiency. This approach is worthy of promotion and application in hospital sterile item management.