|
* EC: Protecting Patients and Staff from Infection Risks: Cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces (PDF/QV) [REF: IC] EC News, October 2015, Vol 18, #10, Pg 5 JCe1510_B6
While hospital acquired infections and multidrug-resistant organisms call for rigorous cleaning and disinfectant efforts, the substances used for these purposes (even ‘green’ products) can cause other deleterious effects such as respiratory illnesses. As such, a balance is required. Unfortunately, the article is not definitive about what that balance is or how to achieve it. However, it does provide two useful take-aways:
1 – It briefly overviews the recent work of The Cleaning and Disinfecting in Healthcare Working Group of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Occupational Research Agenda. This is a collaboration of infection prevention and occupational health researchers and practitioners who have the objective of providing a more integrated approach to effective environmental surface cleaning and disinfection (C&D) while protecting the respiratory health of health care personnel. The work is entitled Cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces in health care: Toward an integrated framework for infection and occupational illness prevention.
2 – [Pearl/Key Def] A sidebar on page 6 provides a useful summary (with definitions) of the four types of cleaning (i.e., Cleaning, Decontamination, Disinfection and Sterilization) in what is called the Hierarchy of Decontamination.
Tip: The Hierarchy of Decontamination is a useful reference for IC professionals See also: Comments for Key Defs.
|
One response to “RTN1510_B6_Patient and Staff Infection Risks (Cleaning and Disinfecting Risks)”
Key Definitions:
What is sometimes called the hierarchy of decontamination consists of four types of cleaning:
1. Cleaning removes soil and other organic material conducive to growth of microorganisms, usually with water, detergent, and mechanical action.
2. Decontamination removes diseaseproducing organisms.
3. Disinfection destroys most diseaseproducing organisms but not all forms of microbes. There are three levels of disinfection:
_a. Low-level disinfection kills some viruses and bacteria but cannot be relied on to kill resistant microorganisms (mycobacteria or bacterial spores); uses chemical germicide registered as a hospital disinfectant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
_b. Intermediate-level disinfection kills mycobacteria, most viruses, and bacteria but does not kill bacterial spores; uses chemical germicide registered as a “tuberculocide” by the EPA.
_c. High-level disinfection kills all organisms except high levels of bacterial spores; uses chemical germicide registered as a sterilant by the EPA.
4. Sterilization destroys all forms of microbial life using a physical or chemical procedure. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following points apply:
———————————————————————
• Noncritical items are those that only touch intact skin and are divided into two categories:
■■ Noncritical patient-care items, such as stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, and crutches
■■ Noncritical environmental surfaces, such as bed rails and patient furniture
Both of these categories require basic cleaning and low-level decontamination.
• Semicritical items are those that come into contact with nonintact skin or mucous membranes, such as respiratory therapy equipment, anesthesia equipment, vaginal probes, and flexible endoscopes. They require high-level disinfection.
• Critical items are those that enter or contact sterile tissues or the vascular system, such as surgical instruments, cardiac and urinary catheters, implants, and needles that enter the vascular system. They require sterilization.
——————-
Source: Protecting Patients and Staff from Infection Risks: Cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces (PDF/QV) [REF: IC] EC News, October 2015, Vol 18, #10, Pg 6