Discussions in Infection Control

An independent site by Lawrence F Muscarella PhD -- a national authority on the causes and prevention of healthcare-associated infections and related errors.

Category: Prions

Best Practices Biological Indicators Biopsy Forceps Central Sterile Processing Critical Device Classifications Endoscope Reprocessing Flexible "ENT" Laryngoscopes Hepatitis (B and C) Viruses High-Level Disinfection HIV Infection Prevention Instrument Reprocessing Intermediate-Level Disinfection Low-Level Disinfection Low-Temperature Sterilization Noncritical ortho-phthalaldehyde Prions Rigid Arthroscopes Semicritical Devices

Disinfection or Sterilization of a Contaminated Reusable Instrument?

September 4, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

Selection of the “right” sterilization or disinfection process, or technology, for reprocessing a specific type of reusable instrument may not always be straightforward. This is often because the instrument is…

Device Contamination Duke University Health System Ethylene Oxide Gas Sterilization Hydraulic Fluid Prions Simulated In-Use Microbiological Tests Steam Sterilization Surgical Instruments University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Impact of Hydraulic Fluid on the Sterilization of Surgical Instruments Were Affected Patients Told of the True Infection Risk?

January 4, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

January 4, 2013 — Two community hospitals in North Carolina in 2004 unwittingly used a oil-based hydraulic fluid instead of a detergent to “clean” surgical instruments prior to terminal sterilization…

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