Cleaning, Sterilization, and Disinfection

Cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization are the methods that help to break the chain of infection and prevent the further spread of disease.

In cleaning, water and detergent or enzymatic cleaners are used to remove organic and inorganic materials, such as body fluids and dust, from surfaces and equipment.

Disinfection eliminates microorganisms, except bacterial spores, from inanimate objects. Methods include wet pasteurization or chemical disinfection.

Surfaces and some instruments used for patient care, such as endoscopes, are disinfected.

Sterilization destroys all microorganisms, including spores, on inert surfaces or fluids. It is usually performed on equipment that will enter a sterile part of the human body.

The categories for disinfection and sterilization include critical, semicritical, and non-critical items.

Critical items are sterilized as they come in contact with sterile tissue or vascular systems, for example, implants.

Semicritical items, like endoscopes, must undergo high-level disinfection as these items come into contact with mucous membranes.

Non-critical items need to undergo low-level disinfection as they come in contact with skin but not mucous membranes; an example includes crutches.