Regulations for Cleaning Surgical Instruments

Cleaning surgical instruments is highly regulated by the medical industry to protect patients from catching infections through contaminated tools and to ensure that health care staff remains safe while handling instruments after surgery.

AAMI Regulations

• The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation developed the 2006 ST-79 standards describing how to sterilize instruments with steam. This document complements AAMI ST-81, which sets the requirements for the sterilization of reusable medical devices, and the AAMI ST-58, which addresses aspects of in-depth chemical disinfection.

OSHA Regulations

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor issued 29 CFR 1910.1030 subpart Z, which dictates the precautions needed to protect health care workers exposed to material that may carry infections. Under OSHA, medical staff must wear disposable gloves when manipulating infected material and must receive annual training on how to dispose of contaminated waste.

AORN Regulations

• The Association of Operating Room Nurses issued the "Recommended Practices for Cleaning and Care of Surgical Instruments and Powered Equipment," which stresses the importance of focusing on the whole cleaning-sterilizing-transporting cycle to ensure adequate cleaning and not rely just on the sterilization itself to remove all risks of contamination to the patient.