CDC Releases New Guidelines

CDC Releases New Guidelines

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today issued its “Guidelines for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008.” This 158-page document presents evidence-based recommendations on the preferred methods for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of patient-care medical devices and for cleaning and disinfecting the healthcare environment.

What’s new?

• Formaldehyde-alcohol has been deleted as a recommended chemical sterilant or high-level disinfectant;
• Several new chemical sterilants have been added;
• 3% phenolics and iodophors have been deleted as high-level disinfectants;
• Isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol have been excluded as high-level disinfectants;
• A 1:16 dilution of 2% glutaraldhyde-7.05% phenol-1.2% sodium phenate has been deleted as a high-level disinfectant;
• The exposure time required to achieve high-level disinfection has been changed to 12 minutes or more depending on the FDA-cleared label claim and the scientific literature; and
• Many new subjects has been added including:
  
• the inactivation of emerging pathogens,
• bioterrorist agents and bloodborne pathogens,
• toxicologic, environmental and occupational concerns associated with disinfection and sterilization practices,
• disinfection of patient-care equipment used in ambulatory and home care,
• inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
• new sterilization processes, and
• disinfection of complex medical instruments.

How is this different from the 2003 dental guidelines?

While the brand-new 2008 guidelines do have a section on Dental Instruments, it is brief and highlights several of the 2003 guidelines including:

• Sterilizing after each use surgical and other instruments that normally penetrate soft tissue or bone;

• Sterilizing handpieces after each use and discontinuing use of any handpieces that cannot be heat-sterilized;

• Understanding the differences between clinical contact and housekeeping surfaces and what to do for each; and

• Understanding the recommendations to reduce variability in the approriate use of disinfectants and sterilants thus reducing the potential for transmitting infectious agents in dentistry.

How do we obtain the new guidelines?

OSAP will continue to study the complete document and provide insights appropriate for dental workers. The Guidelines may be downloaded at the OSAP website at http://www.osap.org/.