Decontamination in hospitals and healthcare / edited by J. Walker.

Part 1 Fundamentals of decontamination in hospitals and healthcare: The importance of decontamination in hospitals and healthcare; The history of decontamination in hospitals; The Role of Standards in decontamination; Infection control in Europe; Future trends in decontamination in hospitals and healthcare. Part 2 Decontamination practices in hospitals and healthcare: Decontamination in primary care: Dental and hospital perspectives; The role of the nurse in decontamination; Minimising microbial contamination in dental unit water systems and microbial control in dental hospitals; Control of waterborne microorganisms and reducing the threat from Legionella and Pseudomonas; The role of continuous microbial debulking in the hospital environment and its effect on reducing hospital-acquired infections (HAI); Provision and control of water for healthcare purposes; Use of gaseous decontamination technologies for wards and isolation rooms in hospitals and healthcare settings; Biocides and decontamination agents including sporicides for decontamination in hospitals; Decontamination of prions; Cleaning and decontamination of the healthcare environment; The role of protective clothing in healthcare and its decontamination; A guide to no-touch automated room disinfection (NTD) systems; New technologies to control the presence of microorganisms in hospitals; Testing strategies and international standards for disinfectants. Part 3 Decontamination of surgical instruments and endoscopes: An overview of current decontamination practices of surgical instruments and medical devices; An overview of the Choice Framework for local Policy and Procedures (CFPP) for decontamination of surgical instruments; An overview of new technologies for the decontamination of surgical instruments and the quantification of protein residues: low-pressure radiofrequency (RF) gas-plasma decontamination and epifluorescence scanning (EFSCAN) detection; Efficacy of current and novel cleaning technologies (ID Box) for assessing protein contamination on surgical instruments; Decontamination of flexible endoscopes; Sterilisation of flexible endoscopes.

This title provides a reference source on decontamination for public health professionals and students concerned with healthcare. It is particularly useful for scientists in microbiology and disinfection/decontamination laboratories, healthcare workers who use disinfectants, students in microbiology, and clinicians.