Final answer:
Objects that have not been contaminated with pathogens in health care are considered clean. Appropriate cleaning levels—clean, disinfected, or sterile—depend on whether items are critical, semicritical, or noncritical based on their use. Sterilization is reserved for items that must be completely free of microbial life, such as surgical equipment.
Step-by-step explanation:
In health care, objects that have not been contaminated with pathogens are considered clean. However, it is crucial to distinguish between clean, disinfected, and sterile objects. Clean objects have been washed and have reduced microbial load but may not be free of all microbes. Disinfected objects have been treated to eliminate or reduce pathogens to safe levels, whereas sterile items have undergone a process to eliminate all forms of microbial life, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores.
The level of cleanliness required for medical items varies depending on how they are used. Critical items, such as surgical instruments that contact sterile tissue or the bloodstream, must be sterile. Semicritical items, including endoscopes which contact mucous membranes, require a high level of disinfection. Noncritical items, like blood pressure cuffs which only touch intact skin, need to be clean but not necessarily disinfected or sterilized.
Sterilization protocols can be time- and labor-intensive, and in some cases, could degrade the item or pose risks to users. Therefore, protocols are tailored to each item's use to ensure they are appropriately clean, disinfected, or sterile based on the risk level they present for infection.