Results of an Infection Control Survey in Ultrasound Departments and Recommended Guidelines

Abstract

Prevention of disease transmission by cross infection is very important in the hospital environment to protect both staff and patients.

At the present time most hospitals have stringent infection control policies which are largely geared toward the wards, critical care units and the operating theatres but there does not appear to be specific guidelines for ultrasound departments. Considering the contact nature of the ultrasound examination and the large number of tests that are performed in most hospitals annually it was felt that this was an area that needed to be addressed. One must be aware not only of protection of patients and staff but also of care in the cleaning of expensive equipment.

We undertook a national survey of the larger general ultrasound departments, vascular and cardiac laboratories to establish current practices and to assess whether these are adequate. We also contacted a number of ultrasound companies and requested cleaning specifications for their equipment.

The full results of the survey, the biological effectiveness of different cleaning techniques and their compatibility with ultrasound transducers will be discussed. Finally, recommendations regarding safe effective cleaning procedures and sensible infection control precautions in ultrasound departments will be made.