Infection control (also called Asepsis) is the use of practices aimed at destroying pathological organisms after they leave the body; employed in the care of patients with infectious diseases to prevent reinfection of the patient and to avoid the spread of infection from one person to another To prevent infections or patient cross contamination, medical and surgical instruments should be handled and stored following strict sterilization procedures and controls. Sterilization is the complete destruction or elimination of all living microorganisms, accomplished by physical methods (dry or moist heat), chemical agents (ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, alcohol), irradiation (ultraviolet, cathode), or mechanical methods (filtration). Disinfection, which reduces or eliminates infectious organisms, does not necessarily kill all microbes.
Sterilization is the elimination of all transmissible agents (such as bacteria, prions and viruses) from a surface, a piece of equipment, food or biological culture medium. This is different from disinfection, where only organisms that can cause disease are removed by a disinfectant. A widely-used method for heat sterilization is the autoclave. Autoclaves commonly use steam heated to 121°C (250°F), at 103 kPa (15 psi) above atmospheric pressure, for 15 minutes. The steam and pressure transfer sufficient heat into organisms to kill them.
Chemicals can also be used for sterilization. Although heating provides the most effective way to rid an object of all transmissible agents, it is not always appropriate, because it destroys objects such as most fiber optics, most electronics, and some plastics.
After instruments have been used on one patient, they must be thoroughly cleaned before they can be sterilized. If an item can not be cleaned properly, it can not be sterilized. Special care must be given to the surgical burs because of their intricate shapes. Bone drills may serve as reservoirs for microorganisms that could be subsequently inoculated directly to a patient during bone drilling. Sterilization methods must be used to process these instruments rather than disinfection alone.
Assignments:
1. Read and study textbook pages 215-220
2. No study questions now (they will be combined with Class #13 "Patient H&P)
3. Please view the videos below:
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