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: Semicritical Devices

Bedside Cleaning Device Classifications Device Contamination Disease Transmission Disinfection Endoscope Reprocessing Escherichia coli Flexible "ENT" Laryngoscopes Hepatitis (B and C) Viruses High-Level Disinfection Infection Prevention Instrument Drying Intermediate-Level Disinfection Pseudomonas aeruginosa Rigid Laryngoscopes Semicritical Devices Serratia spp. Sheaths Sterilization

California Health Alert: Failure to Disinfect Reusable Semicritical Instrumentation Poses an Increased Risk of Infection

September 16, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

September 16, 2013 — In 2007 the Health and Human Services Agency Department of Health Services for the state of California advised facility administrators and infection prevention and control professionals,…

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…

adenosine triphosphate (ATP) Auxiliary Water Channel Biofilms Bronchoscopes Colonoscopes Disease Transmission Disinfection Gastrointestinal Endoscopy GI Endoscopes Healthcare-Acquired Infections Hepatitis (B and C) Viruses High-Level Disinfection HIV Infection Prevention Instrument Reprocessing Los Angeles Times MAJ-855 Water Tube Pseudomonas aeruginosa Semicritical Devices

Response to a Report about GI Endoscopes Remaining Contaminated despite Cleaning

June 25, 2013 Lawrence F Muscarella PhD

This posting by Lawrence F Muscarella, PhD, provides his response to a recent report that gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes may remain contaminated with patient materials after cleaning, posing an increased risk…

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