Infection control is more crucial than ever as healthcare practitioners face increasing caseloads of diseases and viruses as well as treating victims of violence, accidents, natural and human-caused disasters. Proper cleaning of instruments used in treatments has two benefits, most important of which is to help ensure infections are not accidently transmitted to other patients. Moreover, reusing properly cleaned and disinfected instruments can help lower costs for treatment facilities.
In a three-step process the World Health Organization has established practical guidelines for infection control in healthcare facilities: cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. An ultrasonic cleaner is faster, safer, and more thorough than scrubbing, soaking, and even using steam. But as the WHO cautions, it is not a substitute for disinfecting and sterilization. Instead, it can be an important step in cleaning instruments after gross contamination is removed by manual or automatic scrubbing.
What is the process?
Ultrasonic cleaning using inaudible frequencies above 18 kHz is a method by which transducers placed on the bottom of cleaning tanks initiate a series of millions of minute bubbles that implode when encountering equipment in the tank. The implosion creates shockwaves upwards of 20,000 pounds per square inch on a microscopic level. This is enough force to carry away contaminants attached to the equipment. The process is called cavitation.
Like any other laboratory process ultrasonic cleaning delivers consistent results as long as the operator is consistent and that the equipment is properly used and maintained. Checkpoints include:
- Being certain that the proper cleaning solution is being used for the particular cleaning process
- Changing the solution when it is visibly dirty or if there is less bubble activity
- Ensuring that the solution is not below the level indicator in the tank
- Using the right temperature for the proper amount of time for the type of item being cleaned.
Variations in any of these factors can alter the results.
There should be no shortcuts taken when it comes to proper cleaning of medical instruments. At the minimum careless procedures necessitate running instruments through the cleaning bath again, wasting time and solvent. If unchecked, dirty instruments will be passed to the disinfecting step, impairing its efficiency. All healthcare facilities must have written procedures for using ultrasonic power to clean medical instruments – including the type of solution, the correct temperatures and cleaning time. Failure anywhere along the cleaning, disinfecting and sterilization process can lead to disastrous results.
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What ultrasonic cleaning procedures are used in your lab? How effective are they in terms of getting the job done right the first time? If you were in charge what changes would you make?
