Disinfection of disposable syringes and injection needles

Authors: Rednenko VV, Rednenko LI, Poplavets E.V.

Editor: Rednenko V.V.

Equipment for the practical skill:

• disinfection table
• containers with disinfectant:
  • "Disinfection of dressings and PPE"
  • "Disinfection of sharp medical devices" (with a puncture-resistant lid and a needle cutter)
  • "Disinfection of syringes and other medical devices"
  • "Rinsing of syringes and other medical devices"
• syringes with needles
• anatomical tweezers in a container with a disinfectant solution
• bag for medical waste
• gloves, mask, glasses

Clinical situation::      

• You are a nurse of a therapeutic department of a district hospital
• You gave an injection to the patient (intramuscular, subcutaneous, intravenous or other) or performed other manipulations (blood sampling, puncture, etc.)
• Disinfect a syringe with a needle after manipulation, collect and pack this medical waste

Order of the skill performance:

Preparatory stage:

• wash your hands (см. Hygienic hand washing)
  
• put on mask, glasses, gloves

Main stage:

• rinse the syringe with a needle with a solution of a chemical disinfectant:
  • find on the disinfection table the container “Rinsing of syringes and other medical items”;
  • take a syringe with an attached needle;
  • withdraw desinfection solution from the container “Rinsing of syringes and other medical items” into the syringe until it is completely filled;
  • by pressing the siringe plunger, remove the solution from the syringe back into the container “Rinsing of syringes and other medical items”

• remove the needle from the syringe:
  • take the container "Disinfection of sharp medical items" with your non-dominant hand (fix with your hand on the table)
  • locate (select) the needle cutter hole;
  • with your dominant hand, take the syringe and place the needle inside the container "Disinfection of sharp medical devices" so that the needle cutter plate is located above the hilt needle
  • firmly press the syringe connector in the toothed hole to the needle cutter plate and pull the syringe toward you, disconnecting the syringe and hilt needle; the needle will fall into the container “Disinfection of sharp medical items”

• disassemble the syringe and place it in the container for disinfection:
  • hold the syringe barrel with your dominant hand;
  • pull the siringe planger with your non-dominant hand until the barrel and planger are disconnected;
  • find the container “Disinfection of syringes and other medical items” on the disinfection table, open it (if it has not been opened before), and place it in the container (the disassembled syringe should be placed in the container “Disinfection of syringes and other medical items”, completely sinked in the disinfectant solution (the layer height of the working solution must be at least 1 cm)
  • expect exposure time indicated in the manufacture recommendation

Final stage:

• remove gloves and place them in the container “Disinfection of dressings, PPE” (see practical skill«Removal contaminated gloves»);
  
• take off a mask and place it in the container “Disinfection of dressings, PPE”;
• take off glasses;
• wash your hands (см. Hygienic hand washing)