1. Wstęp. 2. Podział instrumentów medycznych. 3. Kompatybilność i tolerancja materiałowa. 4. Centralizacja procesów dekontaminacji. 5. Transport narzędzi od użytkownika. 6. Oczyszczanie i dezynfekcja. 7. Suszenie. 8. Podsumowanie

Abstract: Developments in modern medicine, introduction of new surgical techniques and invasive methods of diagnosis and treatment, resulted in an increased risk of medical personnel’s contact with materials contaminated by pathogens. Surgical instruments pose a high risk of infection transmission, as due to contact with tissue they must be sterile. Reprocessing is the technological line, comprising a series of steps that must be done to contaminated instruments during the procedure which makes them suitable for reuse. The main stages of reprocessing are: cleansing, disinfecting, rinsing, drying, control of functionality, maintainance, packaging, sterilisation and verification of medical device quality and performance of functional tests, which allow the user to provide a sterile product, while maintaining its full functional capacity. The paper presents the steps of preparation of medical instruments for use, from transportation from the user, through the cleansing, disinfection and control. The sterilisation process and its control are discussed in part two of the article.

1. Introduction. 2. The classification of medical instruments. 3. Compatibility and material tolerance. 4. Centralisation of decontamination processes. 5. Transportation of instruments from the user. 6. Cleansing and disinfection. 7. Drying. 8. Summary