Navigating the Shadows – Other Areas of the Probe and Global Guidance
‘Probe cords and machine keyboards present significant sources of infection, and this can include potential pathogens.’
(Westerway et al., 2017)6
UV systems are designed solely to disinfect the portion of the probe that come into contact with the patient. This does not consider the possibility that staff performing the procedure may come into contact with other areas of the device during a patient procedure, inadvertently causing cross-contamination. These areas should be considered equal to the insertable portion of the device and be disinfected to the same level, which is not possible with most UV systems.
Guidance
WFUMB – Guidelines for Cleaning Transvaginal Ultrasound Transducers Between Patients states:
‘An additional consideration is the fact that the transducer handle and cable can also become contaminated and may also require disinfection.’
(Abramowicz et al., 2017)7
Also, the Infection Prevention and Control in Ultrasound. Best Practice Recommendations from the European Society of Ultrasound Working Group states:
‘Thorough decontamination of US transducers and any equipment in direct patient contact before and after every patient, to the level required for specific procedures and in compliance with manufacturer specifications to avoid transducer surface damage, should be carried out.
This includes regular decontamination of US keyboard/console and any cables.’
‘All US equipment in direct or indirect patient contact must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected at the start of the examination and after every patient. This includes the US transducer with handle, cable and transducer holder (as far as possible) as well as additional devices which may be used during diagnostic or interventional procedures such as US fusions sensors/cables…
Contamination of US equipment may be underestimated.’
(Nyhsen et al., 2017)8
References
6Westerway, S.C., Basseal, J.M., Brockway, A., Hyett, J.A. and Carter, D.A. (2017). Potential Infection Control Risks Associated with Ultrasound Equipment – A Bacterial Perspective. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 43(2), pp.421–426.
7Abramowicz, J.S., Evans, D.H., Fowlkes, J.B., Maršal, K. and terHaar, G. (2017). Guidelines for Cleaning Transvaginal Ultrasound Transducers Between Patients. Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology, 43(5), pp.1076–1079.
8Nyhsen, C.M., Humphreys, H., Koerner, R.J., Grenier, N., Brady, A., Sidhu, P., Nicolau, C., Mostbeck, G., D’Onofrio, M., Gangi, A. and Claudon, M. (2017). Infection prevention and control in ultrasound – best practice recommendations from the European Society of Radiology Ultrasound Working Group. Insights into Imaging, 8(6), pp.523–535.