Ultrasound Probe Disinfection Guidelines
Global Guidelines
Semi-Critical & Critical Ultrasound probes must receive as a minimum High Level Disinfection (HLD)
- USA : CDC 2008, AIUM 2003
- Canada : College of Sonographers 2013
- Australia : ASUM /ACIPC 2017
- Germany : DEGUM 2018
- England : BMUS 2017,
- England: Hospital Infection Society 2018
- France : Ministry of Health 2019
- Belgium : Ministry of Health 2019
- Israel : Ministry of Health 2017
- Ireland : Ministry of Health 2017
- Wales : Ministry of Health 2014
- Scotland : Ministry of Health 2017
- Saudi Arabia : Ministry of Health 2019
- European Federation of Ultrasound (ESFUMB) 2017
- World Federation of Ultrasound (WFUMB) 2017
European Society of Radiology (ESR) 2017
Local Guidelines
ASUM/ACIPC Guidelines for Reprocessing Ultrasound Transducers. States each ultrasound procedure involves contact between an ultrasound transducer and the patient’s skin, mucous membranes, or sterile tissues needs to be at a minimum HLD.1
AS/NZS 4187:2014: The objective of this Standard is to ensure that health service organizations HSOs correctly clean, disinfect and sterilize reusable medical devices RMDs prior to and between patient uses in order to produce RMDs that are able to be used safely without risk of transmission of infectious agents.2
TGA Guidelines . Recommend semi-critical probes are HLD.3
NHMRC Recommend semi-critical probes are HLD.4
ECMUS, WFUMB recommend High-level disinfection as a minimum standard for the disinfection of endocavitary ultrasound probes.5-6
- ACIPC-ASUM. Guidelines for Reprocessing Ultrasound Transducers. Australasian Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine. 2017;20(1):30-40.
- Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand. AS/NZS 4187:2014 Reprocessing of reusable medical devices in health service organizations (superseding AS/NZS 4187:2003). Standards Australia; 2014.
- Therapeutic Good Administration (168TGA) 1998. Guidelines for the evaluation of sterilants and disinfectants. Available at: https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/disinfectants-evaluation-guidelines.pdf
- National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare. Canberra, Australia: NHMRC; 2019.
- Kollmann, C. and K. Salvesen (2017). “Best Practice recommendations for cleaning and disinfection of ultrasound transducers whilst maintaining transducer integrity.” European Committee for Medical Ultrasound Safety (ECMUS).
- JACQUES S. et al. (2017) GUIDELINES FOR CLEANING TRANSVAGINAL ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCERS BETWEEN PATIENTS World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology