A Practical Guide to Decontamination in Healthcare

Reusable devices play an essential role in the variety of surgical and investigational procedures. Practices vary widely, but with new international norms these practices are becoming increasingly standardized. These practices vary from simple cleaning and disinfection, all the way to sterilization of devices and can range from small clinics to large "super-centres" that manage instruments for a variety of hospitals within a general area. The area is rather topical considering the various types of infectious agents these processes can be associated with when things go wrong, including agents such as those responsible for AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and variant CJD. Although there are various country-specific guidelines on decontamination practices and text books that describe some of these aspects (in particular various disinfection and sterilization techniques), there are no general textbooks for healthcare professionals in this area on decontamination practices.

Gerald McDonnell, STERIS Limited, Basingstoke, UK

Denise Sheard, Sterile Services Training Consultant, Cape Town, South Africa