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Cleaning and disinfecting procedure of ultrasound machine and probe in the Surgical ICU of La Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital |
| Reduction of environmental contamination |
| Avoid as much as possible contact between ultrasound machine and patient's environment |
| Use single-patient package of coupling gela |
| Limit the probe contact to patient's skin |
| During examination, restrict contacts with the ultrasound machine to the probe and the keyboard |
| At the end of the examination, leave the probe on the bedb |
| Disinfection procedure at the end of the examination |
| Cleaning of examiner's hands |
| Cleaningc of the ultrasound machine, including the probe holder |
| Cleaning of the keyboard |
| Removing of gel with paper toweld |
| Cleaning of the probeb |
| Spontaneous air drying |
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aAvoid using a gel bottle because the tip may be contaminated by contact with the probe or the patient's skin. Such contact may result in the contamination of the gel contained in the bottle. bThe contaminated probe should not be placed in the probe holder before decontamination. cWe use a detergent-disinfectant based on a quaternary ammonium compound with a processing time of at least 60 seconds. It cleans by removing organic material and suspending grease or oil and disinfects. After 11 years of experience, we have not found evidence of this causing material damage, including significant alterations of acoustic properties of the probe. dRemaining ultrasound gel on the lung ultrasound probe has shown bacterial growth when left overnight [20]. |
Bouhemad et al. Critical Care 2007 11:205 doi:10.1186/cc5668 |