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INFECTION PREVENTION
Ann Marie Pettis, RN, BSN, CIC
Take Our Surface Disinfection Quiz
See if you clean up on this 7-question test.
W
hile surface disinfection may seem like a basic, commonsense
practice — how hard can it be to use a disinfectant wipe on a
tray or table? — there's more to it than that. It's important that
you provide training on evidence-based protocols to your environmental
workers and nurses alike. The following 7 questions will give you an idea of
the kind of rules (and rationales) your policies should entail.
1. When cleaning the OR between cases, or at the end of the day, it's important to
start by cleaning the floor, because it's the dirtiest and most contaminated surface in
the room.
a. true
b. false
b. false. Because floors receive minimal hand contact, they should be cleaned
"on a regular basis, when soiling or spills occur, and when a patient is discharged" from the area.1 Extraordinary cleaning and decontamination are not
warranted, as "[s]tudies have demonstrated that disinfection of floors offers
no advantage over regular detergent/water cleaning" and minimally affects
incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).1
Further, you should tackle floors last during any cleaning because "newly
cleaned floors rapidly become recontaminated from airborne microorganisms and those transferred from shoes, equipment wheels and body substances," according to the CDC.2 That is, if you clean the OR table after the
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | O C T O B E R 2012
