Disinfection and sterilisation of healthcare medical devices: A review

Ademu Abdulkadir

Microbiology Research International
Published: December 2 2019
Volume 7, Issue 4
Pages 40-45
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30918/MRI.74.19.033

Abstract

Disinfection and sterilisation are critical to ensuring that medical devices (invasive and non-invasive) do not transmit pathogens to patients. All invasive procedures require contact between medical devices and patients’ sterile tissue or mucous membranes. Failure to properly disinfect or sterilise medical devices will predispose patients to infectious agents when hosts’ immunological barriers are broken. The decision about the method of disinfection and sterilisation should always be based on Spaulding’s classification. This classification defines critical, semi-critical and non-critical devices which should be sterilised, high-level disinfected and low-level disinfected respectively. Laboratory staff should always consider the merits and demerits of specific methods when carrying out disinfection and sterilisation. This review article presents the approach for the careful selection and adequate utilisation of disinfection and sterilisation processes. Strict adherence to disinfection and sterilisation guidelines will reduce infections associated with contaminated or improperly disinfected or sterilised medical device.

Keywords: Disinfection, sterilisation, germicides, pathogens, medical device.

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