Sterilization and disinfection in general practice within university health services

McNally, Oonagh; Thompson, Irene M.; McIlvenny, G.; Smyth, E.T.M.; McBride, Nyanda; MacAuley, Domhnall

doi:10.1053/jhin.2001.1074

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In a survey in Northern Ireland, 17% of GPs using a steam steriliser used a sub-optimal temperature for sterilisation. 3 In a UK study, 70% of GPs performed no user check at all on their autoclaves and 15% of instruments were inadequately decontaminated. 5 Steam sterilisation, that is, moist heat in the form of saturated steam under pressure, is the most dependable method of sterilisation and is the method of choice for reusable instruments in primary care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 Studies from primary care in developed countries indicate that many general practitioners (GPs) do not comply with standard infection control practices. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a postal questionnaire survey of general practices in Northern Ireland: only 51% of those who had a desktop steriliser had written instructions for its operation no steriliser was cleaned daily no practice changed the steriliser water on a daily basis. 3 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Infection control in general practices in Buffalo City and OR Tambo District Municipalities, South Africa

O'Mahony

2012

Afr. j. prim. health care fam. med.

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BackgroundGood infection control practices are effective in reducing rates of infection in health care settings. Studies in primary care in developed countries indicate that many general practitioners (GPs) do not comply with optimal infection control practices. There are no published studies from developing countries in Southern Africa.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to describe infection control practices in private GP surgeries in the Buffalo City and OR Tambo District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.MethodA literature review was conducted to appraise current best practice with respect to Standard Infection Control and Transmission Based Precautions. A questionnaire, inquiring into GPs’ actual practices, was posted to each surgery.ResultsThe valid response rate was 34% (47/140). Methods used to sterilise instruments in 40 practices were: ultraviolet sterilisation (23), chemical disinfection (14), boiling water (7), and steam autoclave (2). Compounds used for chemical disinfection included organotin quaternary, chlorhexidine and benzyl ammonium chloride with a quaternary complex. Twenty-two (47%) used a hand rub. Sixteen (35%) GPs stated that they had a policy to promptly triage patients who are coughing, and 23 (50%) had a policy for airflow movement in the surgery. All practices appropriately disposed of sharps. Thirty-seven (80%) expressed interest in a seminar on infection control.ConclusionsOverall, GPs were aware of infection control precautions. Ultraviolet sterilisers and chlorhexidine are not recommended, however, for sterilisation or high level disinfection of medical instruments, and their use should be discontinued. Hand rubs are underutilised. GPs should implement Transmission Based Precautions to prevent airborne and droplet infections.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 Studies from primary care in developed countries indicate that many general practitioners (GPs) do not comply with standard infection control practices. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Infection control in general practices in Buffalo City and OR Tambo District Municipalities, South Africa

O'Mahony

2012

Afr. j. prim. health care fam. med.

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“…In Nepal, there is no nationally endorsed guiding document providing standard practices for medical device reprocessing or for steam sterilization. Therefore, first, we identified minimum essential practices [20] for medical device reprocessing and steam sterilization based on several published studies [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] and national/international guidelines and standards [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. In this study, we use the term 'standard medical device reprocessing practices' or simply 'standard practices' for those minimal essential practices.…”

Section: Audit Tool: Medical Device Reprocessing and Steam Sterilizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliance of primary and secondary care public hospitals with standard practices for reprocessing and steam sterilization of reusable medical devices in Nepal: findings from nation-wide multicenter clustered audits

Panta¹,

Richardson

Shaw

et al. 2020

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Reusable medical devices in healthcare facilities are decontaminated and reprocessed following standard practices before each clinical procedure. Reprocessing of critical medical devices (those used for invasive clinical procedures) comprises several processes including sterilization, which provides the highest level of decontamination. Steam sterilization is the most used sterilization procedure across the globe. Noncompliance with standards addressing reprocessing of medical devices may lead to inadequate sterilization and thus increase the risk of person-to-person or environmental transmission of pathogens in healthcare facilities. We conducted nationwide multicenter clustered audits to understand the compliance of primary- and secondary-care public hospitals in Nepal with the standard practices for medical device reprocessing, including steam sterilization. Methods We developed an audit tool to assess compliance of hospitals with the standard practices for medical device reprocessing including steam sterilization. Altogether, 189 medical device reprocessing cycles which included steam sterilization were assessed in 13 primary and secondary care public hospitals in Nepal using the audit tool. Percentage compliance was calculated for each standard practice. Mean percentage compliances were obtained for overall primary and secondary care hospitals and for each hospital type, specific hospital and process involved. Results For all primary and secondary care hospitals in Nepal, the mean percentage compliance with the standard practices for medical device reprocessing including steam sterilization was 25.9% (95% CI 21.0–30.8%). The lower the level of care provided by the hospitals, the lower was the mean percentage compliance, and the difference in the means across the hospital types was statistically significant (p < 0.01). The mean percentage compliance of individual hospitals ranged from 14.7 to 46.0%. The hospitals had better compliance with the practices for cleaning of used devices and transport and storage of sterilized devices compared with the practices for other processes of the medical device reprocessing cycle. Conclusion The primary and secondary care hospitals in Nepal had poor compliance with the standard practices for steam sterilization and reprocessing of medical devices. Interventions to improve compliance of the hospitals are immediately required to minimize the risks of person-to-person or environmental transmission of pathogens through inadequately reprocessed medical devices.

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“…Sabe-se que conceitos sobre esterilização podem não ser compreendidos por ocupacionais que realizam atividades com o reprocessamento, demonstrando desconhecimentos aos riscos de infecção cruzada e métodos seguros de descontaminação de instrumentais (27) . A maioria dos ocupacionais das unidades básicas de saúde estudadas trabalhou em um período entre 0-5 anos (73,5%), 32,3% receberam treinamento inicial ao assumir o reprocessamento de artigos da UBS, e 67,6% nunca receberam nenhum tipo de treinamento, portanto é aconselhável que a capacitação dos trabalhadores seja inserida de forma continuada, por meio de instruções escritas em linguagem acessível e compreensível sobre as rotinas realizadas no local de trabalho e medidas de prevenção de acidentes e de doenças relacionadas ao trabalho (11,26) , pois a qualificação do operador terá notável influência nos processos estabelecidos e na prevenção e controle de infecção (17) .…”

Section: Discussão Discussão Discussão Discussão Discussãounclassified

Reprocessamento de artigos críticos em unidades básicas de saúde: perfil do operador e ações envolvidas

Costa

Freitas

2009

Rev. Bras. Enferm.

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Descriptve-exploratory study that aimed to outline the profile and the actions of workers who conduct the reprocessing of critical devices at primary health care units in a city in the State of São Paulo. Thirty-four primary health care units were surveyed. Individuals responsible for reprocessing are nursing assistants (88.2%), that conducted concomitantly activities related to immunization (11.7%), dressing (26.4%) collection of samples for exams (23.5%); 32.4% had received training at the beginning of their reprocessing activities, and 8,82% at least one year before. The lack of dully skilled individuals may influence the quality of the process and constitute a limiting factor for the control of cross infection.

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Sterilization and disinfection in general practice within university health services

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

Infection control in general practices in Buffalo City and OR Tambo District Municipalities, South Africa

Infection control in general practices in Buffalo City and OR Tambo District Municipalities, South Africa

Compliance of primary and secondary care public hospitals with standard practices for reprocessing and steam sterilization of reusable medical devices in Nepal: findings from nation-wide multicenter clustered audits

Reprocessamento de artigos críticos em unidades básicas de saúde: perfil do operador e ações envolvidas

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