Hygiene Atlas

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Monitoring 1: mechanical (every load)

Also called: physical monitoring, cycle printout

Check the sterilizer's time, temperature and pressure readings for every load.

Mechanical monitoring means reading the sterilizer's gauges, display or printout for every load and confirming the cycle reached the right time, temperature and pressure. Correct numbers do not prove sterility, but wrong numbers are often the first sign of a problem.

How to spot it

  1. The cycle printout, a digital cycle record or the gauges at the end of the cycle.

What you do

  1. Record or file the readings in the sterilization log.
  2. If the readings are wrong, do not use the load; reprocess it and tell the person in charge.

Related

Sources: CDC. Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, 2003. MMWR 2003;52(RR-17), CDC. Dental Infection Prevention FAQs: Sterilization Monitoring