Role of cleaning quality traceability in hospital sterilization centers

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Source: Frontiers Medicine

Original: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1684189...

Published: 2026-01-22T00:00:00Z

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) increase patient morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs, and sterilization and supply centers (SSCs) are critical in their prevention. A study in five hospitals retrospectively analyzed adherence to cleaning protocols, HAI incidence, and operational efficiency before and after implementation of cleaning quality traceability systems. Implementation resulted in a 42.6% reduction in HAIs from 5.4 to 3.1 per 1,000 patient days (p < 0.01). Specifically, surgical site infections (SSI) decreased from 1.8 to 1.0 and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) decreased from 1.5 to 0.9 per 1,000 patient days. Systems had minimal downtime and issues were resolved immediately. Implementation of these systems has increased adherence to protocols and reduced HAI rates, improving patient outcomes and the efficiency of hospital operations.