Thousands of patients die in hospitals around the world every year because of contaminated medical equipment. The number of deaths can be reduced dramatically if hospital authorities put more emphasis on cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing patient care instruments. Chemical sterilization of medical instruments is of utmost importance because doing so saves lives that may be unnecessarily lost. Here are just some of the reasons why chemical sterilization is necessary for medical instruments.
- To prevent the growth of diseases: When medical instruments are used on patients, they become contaminated with bacteria and other germs. If these instruments are left without cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing, the bacteria and germs can multiply. When the same instrument is used on the patient again, they hop back to the patient and as a result the disease grows. Therefore, medical instruments should be properly cleaned, disinfected and sterilized before they are reused on the patient.
- To prevent diseases from spreading: Many people who go to hospitals for minor problems can end up catching another type of illness during their stay. The single biggest reason for this is improperly sterilized medical instruments. When instruments that have been used on one patient are used later on another patient, there is a very high probability that the latter will be infected if the tools were not sterilized effectively. For this reason, it is very important to properly clean, disinfect and sterilize medical instruments.
- To prevent infection during surgery: A lot of people who require surgery can be exposed to infection from unsterilized surgical equipment used in the operating room. Such an infection usually manifests itself after a few days and leads to complications that can potentially be fatal. Proper sterilization of surgical instruments prevents such a situation.
- To prevent costly and embarrassing lawsuits: When patients get infected and die or become incapacitated as a result of unsterilized medical and surgical instruments, they or other family may file a lawsuit seeking millions of dollar in damage. Such a lawsuit is not only costly, but also highly embarrassing for the hospital or clinic. Therefore, it is very important to clean, disinfect and chemically sterilize every equipment and instrument after use to ensure the best medical care for all patients.
Used and contaminated instruments should be transported to a central reprocessing (facility) in sealed containers to be sterilized if it cannot be done on-site. Equipment that cannot be sterilized should be disposed of properly. Something that is as important as sterilization should never be given second or third priority. It should always be the top priority of every medical establishment.
