Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control-Online Journal

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Article in Japanese

Disinfectants: Practices and Background Knowledge

Ryo YAMAGUCHI and Kazuo TAKAYAMA
Department of Pharmacy, The University of Tokyo Hospital

Appropriate use of disinfectants is crucial for controlling infections. The three key factors that influence the efficacy of disinfection are "concentration", "temperature", and "time". Spaulding's Classification of Medical Devices categorizes medical devices into three classes: critical, semicritical or noncritical, based on the risk of infection associated with their use. Disinfectants are classified as high, intermediate, or low-level, according to their toxicity and antimicrobial spectrum. To achieve optimal disinfection practices, medical staff need to understand the characteristics of disinfectants and the devices being disinfected, and to use disinfectants after considering the three key factors. To ensure the appropriate use of disinfectant, ICT staff should check especially on the following topics: waterless antiseptic agents; differences between handwashing and antiseptic hand rub; disinfectant spraying; disinfection of enteral feeding sets; antiseptics for the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections; and antiseptics to prevent contamination of blood culture specimens.

Key words：Spaulding's Classification of Medical Devices, waterless antiseptic agents, handwashing, enteral feeding sets, catheter-related bloodstream infections

e-mail: ryamaguchi-tky＠umin.ac.jp

Received: July 26, 2017
Accepted: August 10, 2017

32 (6)：330─336,2017