A cross-sectional study on practice of cleaning and drying of lumen devices in 262 hospitals

Objective To learn the practice of cleaning and drying of lumen devices through cross-sectional questionnaire survey and provide basis for the future work. Methods From March to April in 2017, staffs from 262 hospitals' disinfection and supplying centers were investigated by self-made questionnaires through Wechat. Results Totally 262 valid questionnaires were collected.Of all the hospitals, general hospitals accounted for 80.15% and tertiary hospitals for 68.75%. About 90.08% of the hospitals used manual cleaning, and the most commonly used methods for cleaning effect evaluation were visual inspection and lighted magnifying glass. The mainly drying methods included high pressure gun (89.69%) and high temperature drying cabinet (73.28%). There were still 14 hospitals using natural air convection to dry the lumen devices. And 45.04% of the respondents in this study believed that the existing methods of cleaning and drying of tube equipment were not effective. Conclusion Complete cleaning and drying of the lumen devices is the key to the success of sterilization, which needs to be standardized in future.