scope:

General

This Standard provides recommended practices for emergency sterilization in hospitals and similar health care facilities. These recommendations are intended to increase assurance of sterility and to assist health care personnel in the proper use of processing equipment.

Notes:

(1) "Similar health care facilities" includes nursing homes, extended-care facilities, clinics, and medical and dental offices. For convenience, the shorter term "hospital" is used herein. 

(2) Emergency sterilization may be performed in various areas of the hospital, including the operating room, labour/delivery room, emergency/trauma room, and other areas where steam sterilizers are located.

(3) "Emergency sterilization", as used herein, is synonymous with "flash sterilization" and sterilization by the "unwrapped method".

Inclusions

This Standard specifically addresses

(a) functional and physical design criteria for areas of hospitals where emergency sterilization is carried out;

(b) staff qualifications, education, and other personnel considerations;

(c) sterilization processing procedures;

(d) the use and maintenance of gravity-displacement and prevacuum sterilizers for emergency sterilization; and

(e) quality assurance.

Exclusions

The following are not addressed in this Standard:

(a) specific construction and performance criteria for steam sterilizers;

(b) guidelines for steam sterilization by the wrapped method; and

(c) "table-top" sterilizers.

The values given in SI (metric) units shall be considered the standard values. The values given in parentheses are included for information only.

In this Standard, the word "shall" indicates a mandatory requirement; "should" indicates a recommendation which is advised but is not mandatory. Notes accompanying clauses provide explanatory or informative material that is not properly a part of this Standard.