What is the decontamination cycle?

The decontamination cycle provides the correct series of events to minimise the risk of cross infection from reusable medical devices

Every part of the cycle must be checked and logged to ensure that the next part of the chain can proceed unhindered. Any breakdown in the cycle will effect all other links so testing and test traceability in paramount.

The decontamination of re-usable medical devices is the combination of processes, which if not undertaken correctly, individually or correctly, may increase the likelihood of micro-organisms being transferred to patients and staff.

Decontamination involves two distinct stages:

1. Cleaning - which removes micro-organisms.

2. Disinfection and sterilization - Where microbial deactivation or destruction takes place.

The effectiveness of the cleaning, disinfection and sterilization processes can be summarised as follows:

Cleaning - Removes up to 99% of micro-organism.

Disinfection - Kills or removes up to 99.9% of micro-organisms.

Sterilization - Kills or removes 100% of micro-organisms.