Topic-specific infection prevention
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Exposures to germs on medical instruments and surfaces in healthcare settings can lead to illness in both patients and healthcare professionals. Appropriate disinfection and sterilization practices can help prevent healthcare-associated infections. This page contains disinfection and sterilization infection prevention resources and education for both healthcare professionals and consumers.
The following links are APIC resources on disinfection and sterilization for healthcare professionals.
Position statements and key messages
- Reprocessing surgical instruments (2012)
- In response to national media attention on the inadequate reprocessing of some surgical instruments, APIC offers general background information and practice recommendations for infection preventionists whose roles include sterile processing coordination/consultation.
- Immediate-use steam sterilization (2011)
- “Flash sterilization” has traditionally been used to describe steam sterilization cycles in which unwrapped medical instruments are subjected to abbreviated steam exposure then used promptly after cycle completion, without being stored. The term “immediate-use steam sterilization” more accurately reflects the current process, which this paper describes.
Implementation guides and tools
- APIC Text (subscription required)
- It takes a team infographic—from the AHRQ Safety Program for Ambulatory Surgery (funded by AHRQ, developed by APIC and HRET)
Education & training
APIC offers a comprehensive collection of clinical education and professional development programs. The following resources are educational opportunities related to disinfection and sterilization.
Visit the Education & Certification page for more educational opportunities.
- EPI® Education Series: Cleaning, Disinfection, and Sterilization in the Surgical Setting—APIC online course
- Best Practices for Disinfection of Noncritical Surfaces and Equipment—APIC Webinar
- Comprehensive HAI Prevention: Finding and Controlling the Sources of Resistant Bacterial Transmission in the Healthcare Setting—APIC Webinar
- Role of surfaces in the transmission of emerging healthcare-associated pathogens: norovirus, Clostridium difficile and Acinetobacter spp—APIC Webinar
- Disinfection, Sterilization, and Antisepsis: Principles, Practices, Current Issues, New Research, and New Technologies—APIC 2015 Annual Conference (Pre-con workshop)
- Visit the APIC 2016 Annual Conference website to search for education on disinfection and sterilization
AJIC articles
Search the American Journal of Infection Control website for more articles on disinfection and sterilization. To access these articles, you need to first login to the APIC website.
External resources
Federal agencies
- Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC)
- Sterilization or Disinfection of Medical Devices—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Sterilization or Disinfection of Patient-Care Equipment—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- FDA releases final guidance on reprocessing of reusable medical devices—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, issued 3/12/2015
- Reprocessing Medical Devices in Health Care Settings: Validation Methods and Labeling—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, issued 3/12/2015
- Immediate Use Steam Sterilization (IUSS) in Surgical Settings—Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, issued 8/29/2014
Associations and other
- Various publications from Association for the Healthcare Environment
- Special issue on environmental decontamination, May 2013—Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology
- Recommended practices for cleaning and care of surgical instruments and powered equipment—Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
- Recommended practices for selection and use of packaging systems—Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
- Superbug reveals challenges with high level disinfection—The Joint Commission, Quick Safety Advisory, March 2015
The following links are APIC and external resources on disinfection and sterilization and infection prevention for consumers.
APIC
- It takes a team infographic—from the AHRQ Safety Program for Ambulatory Surgery (funded by AHRQ, developed by APIC and HRET)
- Prevent infections by keeping your environment clean—Monthly alert for consumers
- Keeping your hospital room clean—Monthly alert for consumers
- Clean your home to prevent winter illness—Monthly alerts for consumers
- Clean your hands often—Infection Prevention and You
External resources
- Wash your hands—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Clean care is safer care—World Health Organization