CDC Guidelines for Autoclave Logbooks

DID YOU KNOW RECORDING EACH STERILIZER CYCLE IS REQUIRED BY THE CDC?

Records of sterilization monitoring (mechanical, chemical, and biological) should be maintained long enough to comply with state and local regulations.

by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Every sterilizer should have its own Log Book containing a written policy describing the procedure and protocol for the sterilization process including a log of all sterilization cycles, sterilizer maintenance, biological spore testing results and steps to take if your spore test fails.

The CDC requires sterilizer monitoring with the following data:

"For each sterilization cycle, record the type of sterilizer and cycle used; the load identification number; the load contents; the exposure parameters (e.g., time and temperature); the operator’s name or initials; and the results of mechanical, chemical, and biological monitoring." (https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/faqs/monitoring.html)

Furthermore, these records must be safely stored for years:

"Records of sterilization monitoring (mechanical, chemical, and biological) should be maintained long enough to comply with state and local regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not maintain information on time limits for every state but provides an example of 3 years in its sterilization guidelines, which is the time frame used by the Joint Commission inspection agency."

(https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/infectioncontrol/faqs/monitoring.html)

Having a log book at every sterilizer is an asset to your business. It will improve sterilizer monitoring, hold staff accountable, track service and repair work on the autoclave and prevent errors and downtime. Our technicians are often called for emergency autoclave repairs that could have been prevented by routine preventative maintenance. By documenting annual preventative maintenance in the log book, your staff will know to schedule this. If your sterilizer is not regularly serviced, it may start to malfunction, resulting in wet packs, non-sterile instruments and error codes, increasing risk and downtime. At the front of each log book is a page to record maintenance work with dates of service to that unique machine documenting Unit Numbers, Serial Numbers, Make and Model of the autoclave.