Version 1
: Received: 2 April 2024 / Approved: 2 April 2024 / Online: 2 April 2024 (16:16:49 CEST)
How to cite:
Kühnel, C.; Gühne, F. Visualization of Effectiveness: The Use of a Colored Cleaning Wipe Set for Visible Disinfection of Ultrasound Probes. Preprints2024, 2024040215. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0215.v1
Kühnel, C.; Gühne, F. Visualization of Effectiveness: The Use of a Colored Cleaning Wipe Set for Visible Disinfection of Ultrasound Probes. Preprints 2024, 2024040215. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0215.v1
Kühnel, C.; Gühne, F. Visualization of Effectiveness: The Use of a Colored Cleaning Wipe Set for Visible Disinfection of Ultrasound Probes. Preprints2024, 2024040215. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0215.v1
APA Style
Kühnel, C., & Gühne, F. (2024). Visualization of Effectiveness: The Use of a Colored Cleaning Wipe Set for Visible Disinfection of Ultrasound Probes. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0215.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Kühnel, C. and Falk Gühne. 2024 "Visualization of Effectiveness: The Use of a Colored Cleaning Wipe Set for Visible Disinfection of Ultrasound Probes" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.0215.v1
Abstract
The German health authorities' guidelines for medical devices in 2012 highlighted the importance of cleaning ultrasound probes, emphasizing their validation and reliability. In addition to automated and validated options, alternative manual methods such as wipe disinfection have gained traction due to their independence from additional hardware. The study examines the effectiveness of manual disinfection methods, specifically the cleaning process, addressing concerns raised by the Robert Koch Institute regarding the lack of validation for wipe disinfection of semi-critical devices. The EQUINOS colored wipe disinfection kit identified wetting gaps in all cleanings across four probes tested. The results indicate significant challenges in ensuring complete surface wetting, particularly in complex body parts such as clip-on areas and shapes for additional biopsy attachments, suggesting that manual methods alone may not adequately mitigate the risk of infection transmission (p value .001). The study concludes that while manual disinfection methods are a viable alternative to automated reprocessing, there is a critical need for enhanced training and potentially the development of more effective manual disinfection techniques or colored wipes to ensure patient safety and compliance with healthcare hygiene standards.
Keywords
chlorine dioxide; disinfection, semi-critical medical devices; wetting gaps; cleaning wipes, ultrasound transducer, US probes
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
