Chapter 8

Question 1

WFW ABOUT STERILZING

Answer 1

You can clean without sterilizing, but you can never sterilize without cleaning. WFW

Question 2

WHAT IS CLEANING?

Answer 2

The removal of all visible and non-visible soil and any other foreign material from the medical device being reprocessed.

Question 3

WHAT IS DECONTAMINATION?

Answer 3

Removing or reducing contamination of infectious organisms or other harmful substances.

Question 4

DESIGN OF THE DECONTAMINATION AREA

Answer 4

• Floors and walls should be constructed of materials that can tolerate harsh chemicals (e.g. sealed vinyl or rubber)
• Ventilation system should allow for 10 air exchange per hour. Temperature should be 60 to 65 with a relative humidity of 30-60
• Relative humidity – Amount of water vapor in the atmosphere; expressed as a percentage of the total amount of vapor the atmosphere could hold with condensation.
• Traffic should be restricted and PPE is ALWAYS required.

Question 5

WHAT IS RELATIVE HUMIDITY?

Answer 5

Amount of water vapor in the atmosphere; expressed as a percentage of the total amount of vapor the atmosphere could hold with condensation.

Question 6

HOW FAR SHOULD THE EYEWASH STATION BE?

Answer 6

Emergency eyewash/shower equipment should be available within 10 seconds or 30 meters of a potential chemical exposure and biohazardous substance exposure.

Question 7

HOUSEKEEPING AND HORIZONTAL WORK SPACE?

Answer 7

• Should be cleaned and disinfected at the beginning and end of each shift.
• Spills should be cleaned immediately.
• Floors should be cleaned and disinfected daily.

Question 8

WHAT IS BIOHAZARDS WASTE?

Answer 8

Waste containing infectious agents that present a risk or potential risk to human health either directly through infections or indirectly through the environment.

Note: Biohazardous waste should be removed at frequent intervals

Question 9

3 COMPARTMENT SINK SET UP?

Answer 9

1. Wash Sink – 1st preclean instrument,temperature range of H2O should be at 80-110-F (prevents coagulation of blood). After precleaning all gross soil, fill sink with warm water then add enzymatic detergent. (now, temp of H20 should be higher then 110F but not higher then 140F. Note: Brush instruments under the surface of the water to prevent aerosols.
2. Intermediate Rinse Sink– contains plain or soften water
3. Final Rinse Sink – filled with distilled, deionized or reverse osmosis water (prevents the redeposit of minerals, microbes and pyrogens)

Question 10

WHAT ARE PYROGENS?

Answer 10

A substance, typically produced by a bacterium, that produces fever when introduced/released into the blood.

Question 11

WHAT IS CONDUCTIVITY?

Answer 11

A measurement of the ability of water to carry an electric current

• The conductivity is an important measurement that indicates water’s ionic (electrical) charge.
• The greater the ionic charge, means more elements in the h20. Ions come from dissolved salts and inorganic materials such as
• Chloride, Nitrate, Sulfate, Phosphate – (has negative charge)
• Sodium, Magnesium, and Calcium - (has positive charge)

Question 12

HOW TO READ A pH LITMUS PAPER?

Answer 12

Acids will turn litmus paper RED.

Alkalis (Sometimes called bases) turn litmus paper BLUE

Question 13

WHAT IS THE ph TABLE?

Answer 13

0-2 Highly Acidic

3-5 Weakly Acidic

6-8 Neutral

9-11 Weakly Basic (Alkaline)

12-14 Highly Basic (Alkaline)

Question 14

WHAT IS CHLORIDES?

Answer 14

• A compound commonly found in water that is created when chlorine is combined with another element or radical.
• In high concentrations, chlorides will damage instrument finishes. It’ll attack instrument surface and cause corrosion.

Goal level of chloride in 100 ppm.

Question 15

WHAT IS TURBIDITY?

Answer 15

Occurs when water contains sediments or solids that, when stirred, make the water appear cloudy

Question 16

WHAT DOES THE GAC SYSTEM USED FOR AND WHAT DOES GAC STAND FOR?

Answer 16

Used to Remove Chlorides in water.

Used as the first step in deionization and reverse-osmosis systems.

An acceptable chloride level in final water rinse is 100ppm or less.

Granular Activated Charcoal (GAC) System

Question 17

WHAT ARE WATER SOFTERNERS USED TO REMOVE?

Answer 17

Used to remove calcium and magnesium (the main elements that contribute to the hardness of water)

Question 18

WHAT IS DEIONIZED WATER?

Answer 18

Water that has had all minerals removed through an ion exchange process.

Deionization is the process by which ions with an electrical charge are removed from water.

NOTE: Deionized water is used in heating/cooling therapy units and in the final rinse water for automated cleaning equipment.

Question 19

WHAT IS DISTILLED WATER?

Answer 19

• Water that is heated to evaporation and then condensed. The process leaves impurities behind.
• Distillation removes dissolved solids, gases, organics, particles, bacteria, pyrogens, and endotoxins.

Question 20

WHAT IS REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER?

Answer 20

Water that is purified using a molecular filter system (semi-permeable membrane)

Sequence:

• Pre-filter
• Softener
• GAC
• Another Filter
• Reverse Osmosis Water

How reverse osmosis systems work:

Pressure is applied > H2O with solute solution (has elements) Flows across semi permeable membrane, membrane catches impurities, pure H2O is released.

Question 21

WHY IS REVERSE OSMOSIS PREFERRED?

Answer 21

PREFERRED

This process removes most dissolved solids, and organics and is capable of removing bacteria, phyrogens, and endotoxins.

Semi-permeable membrane is 0.0001 micron in size

Question 22

WHAT IS BRUSH SAFETY?

Answer 22

During decontamination, Brushing should be done under water to prevent aerosols. Follow there grain (if any), using a to and from motion instead of circular motions. This prevent damage to the instrument’s surface

Question 23

WHAT ARE DETERGENTS?

Answer 23

• Substances that dislodge, remove, and disperse solid and liquid soils from the surface being cleaned.
• Detergents are specially formulated for the specific uses

Question 24

WHAT SHOULD EFFECTIVE CLEANING AGENTS HAVE? WHAT SHOULD IT CONSIST OF?

Answer 24

• Non-Abrasive
• Low-Foaming
• Free-Rinsing- Removal of any residue of cleaning agents and chemicals remaining after the cleaning process.
• Allow for rapid soil dispersion
• Non-Toxic
• Effective on all types of soil
• Have a long shelf life
• Cost-effective
• Be able to be monitored for effective concentration and useful life

Question 25

THINGS THAT ARE ADDED INTO DETERGENTS THAT HELPS IT WORK BETTER?

Answer 25

Chelating Agents – Chemicals that HOLD hard water minerals in solution, and prevent soaps or detergents from reacting with minerals. Chelating agents have an ionic charge that allows soils with the opposite charge to break away and attach itself to the chelating agent and HOLDS on Emulsifier surrounds it to prevent re-attachement.

Emulsifier – Any ingredient used to bind together substances that normally do not bind together.

Sequestering Agents – Chemicals that REMOVEor inactivate hard minerals.

Surfactant – A substance that lowers the surface tension of the water and increases the solubility of organic compounds.