Sterilization is done for killing the microorganism and all the spores. Autoclaving is the most common method used in sterilizing surgical instruments. Autoclaving means saturated steam under high pressure; however dry heat and chemical sterilants can also be used. Cleaning, sterilizing and disinfecting are three levels of instrument care. In which cleaning removes dirt, debris and biological material from surgical instruments. You can use the sterilizing surgical instruments manually or mechanically using water and detergents and enzymatic cleaner. Clean the instrument every time before using it because debris that remains on the instruments can lead to disinfection which can corrupt your research data. Cleaning is the first step and the most important step in sterilization sometimes only cleaning is required.
The other process is disinfection which can be broken down into three tiers: low-level disinfection (LLD), intermediate level disinfection (ILD), and high-level disinfection (HLD). LLD or low-level disinfection eliminates all vegetative bacteria except tubercle bacilli, lipid virus, non-lipid viruses and some fungi in less than 10 minutes. ILD destroy tubercle bacilli, mycobacteria, lipid enveloped and some non-lipid enveloped viruses and the fungus spores as well. In addition of killing the microorganism, HLD is also able to kill bacterial spores, though not in a high number. The CDC recommends 90 minutes soak at 25°C.
The last process is sterilization. Sterilization destroys all microbial life. Some sterilants can be used as HLD disinfectants used for shorter exposure periods. Dry heat or autoclaving are the preferred methods of sterilizing surgical instruments.
The first step is cleaning in which the surgical instruments should be cleaned very well after the use of it like cleaning all rinse of blood, bodily fluids, and tissue immediately after use. Dried soil may damage the instrument surface and make cleaning more difficult. Rinse your instruments in cool water. Hot water can cause proteinous substances to coagulate. If you would want then soak your surgical instruments under cool water with an enzymatic detergent. The detergents help to dissolve the proteins and break down the oils. Then the surgical instrument may be cleaned manually or mechanically in a washer or ultrasonic bath. The cleanings are of two types of manual cleaning and mechanical cleaning. If the mechanical cleaning method is unavailable then the manual cleaning can come to use. While cleaning use soft plastic brushes to scrub the instruments. Do not use steel wool, wire brush or abrasive which can damage the surgical tool with scratches or anything. Hold the instruments below the surface of the water when you scrub to avoid splattering contaminants. Always try to be sure to brush out all the crevices, teeth, and grooves. Rinse each instrument under running water. Open and close hinged instruments like scissors, hemostats, and forceps under running water thoroughly rinse detergent from hinges. Other is the mechanical cleaning process in which the cleaning is quite automatic it’s like the use of washing machine for the surgical instrument in which the ultrasonic cleaning method is the most effective cleaning method because of its cavitation. All you need to do before cleaning is a separate instrument and make sure that any sharp instrument does not touch another one. The other is disinfection where there is thermal HLD and chemical HLD. In Thermal HLD the instrument is heated over 100 degrees Centigrade to kill all microorganism but boiling does not sterilize. And chemical disinfection is used when the instrument is damaged by heat. Finally, sterilization is done mostly through autoclaving which is the most common method for sterilization purposes; however dry heat and chemical sterilants can also be used. The other is cold sterilization in which it takes 10 hours to sterilize the instruments. This can be detrimental to fine instruments.
Therefore with proper care and maintenance, your instrument will last for years to come by the sterilizing surgical instrument in the right ways. Understanding the cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing surgical instruments will safeguard your research and protect your investment in surgical instruments.