Decontamination and Cleaning Processes Questions and Answers Flashcards
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What is the purpose of a washer-disinfector in the decontamination process?
Answer: To automate cleaning and provide thermal disinfection
A washer-disinfector automates the cleaning cycle and provides thermal disinfection by exposing instruments to hot water during the final rinse, reducing bioburden to safe handling levels.
Why should instruments with lumens receive special attention during the cleaning process?
Answer: Soil and bioburden can become trapped inside narrow channels
Instruments with lumens require special attention because soil and bioburden can become trapped inside the narrow passages, where standard cleaning methods may not reach effectively.
What is the significance of the Spaulding Classification system in instrument decontamination?
Answer: It categorizes items as critical, semi-critical, or non-critical based on infection risk
The Spaulding Classification categorizes medical devices into critical (enters sterile tissue), semi-critical (contacts mucous membranes), and non-critical (contacts intact skin) to determine required reprocessing level.
What is the recommended action if an instrument falls to the floor during a surgical procedure?
Answer: Remove it from the sterile field and send it for complete reprocessing
Any instrument that contacts the floor is considered contaminated and must be removed from the sterile field and sent through the complete reprocessing cycle.
What is the purpose of performing a protein residual test on cleaned instruments?
Answer: To detect remaining organic soil that indicates inadequate cleaning
Protein residual tests detect remaining organic matter on instrument surfaces after cleaning, serving as a quality control measure to verify cleaning effectiveness.
Why must stainless steel and aluminum instruments be separated during the cleaning process?
Answer: Mixing dissimilar metals can cause electrolytic corrosion and staining
Dissimilar metals must be separated during cleaning because contact between them in an electrolyte solution can cause galvanic corrosion, leading to pitting, staining, and premature degradation.