Infection Control and Hazard Management
The chain and standard precautions
Infection control questions test the chain of infection - infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, susceptible host - and the way each link is broken. Standard precautions apply to every patient regardless of diagnosis and include hand hygiene, PPE, safe sharps handling and respiratory hygiene. Hand hygiene is the single most important measure: before gloving, after glove removal, and between patients. Gloves never substitute for washing.
Spaulding classification
Critical items penetrate tissue or contact bone and blood (forceps, scalers, surgical burs) and must be sterile. Semicritical items contact mucous membranes (mirrors, condensers, film holders) require at least high-level disinfection, though heat sterilization is preferred. Noncritical items contact intact skin (countertops, light handles) need low- to intermediate-level disinfection.
Processing sequence
Clean (ultrasonic or washer-disinfector), rinse and dry, package with a chemical indicator, sterilize, then store. Steam cycles are commonly 121 °C at 15 psi for 15–20 minutes or 132 °C at 30 psi for about 4 minutes. A chemical indicator only shows the package was exposed to the process; only a biological monitor verifies killing. For steam the spore organism is Geobacillus stearothermophilus, run at least weekly and after any load failure.
Traps
Writers conflate disinfection with sterilization, swap which spore belongs to which method, and imply gloves replace hand hygiene. For a needlestick: wash with soap and water (do not squeeze or scrub), report immediately, and follow the exposure protocol.
Rule of thumb: if it touches bone or blood, it must be sterile.