Question
What type of infection control is needed for immittance testing?
Answer
When you're using immittance probes, because you are inserting them into the ear and they come into contact with cerumen, they do meet the definition of a critical instrument and must be cleaned and then sterilized prior to reuse. More information on cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing can be found in the recorded course Infection Control: Putting the Pedal to the Sterilized Metal. To view the entire course, please click here to register.
A.U. Bankaitis, Ph.D., is Vice President of Oaktree Products, Inc of St. Louis, MO, a multi-line distributor of hearing health care products intended for use in the clinical environment or for resale to patients, currently providing over 3100 items to professionals worldwide. Dr. Bankaitis earned her doctorate from the University of Cincinnati in 1995 where her funded research investigated the effects of varying degrees of HIV on the auditory system. This research naturally led to the area of infection control. Dr. Bankaitis is considered one of the leading experts in this area as it pertains to the hearing industry, authoring numerous infection control publications including the popular text book Infection Control in the Audiology Clinic.
More information about Oaktree Products, Inc. can be found by visiting the Oaktree Web Channel on AudiologyOnline or at www.oaktreeproducts.com. Stay current on the latest happenings at Oaktree on Facebook and Twitter!
Continued and its subsidiaries provide professional education authored by qualified Subject Matter Experts for continuing education purposes. These materials are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute medical advice or a substitute for individual clinical judgment. Continued is not a clinical healthcare provider; the licensed professional is solely responsible for ensuring that the application of any techniques or information presented is within their legal scope of practice and jurisdictional requirements.
