1)  Determine the appropriate category under which the      article to be cleaned, disinfected, or sterilized is      classified:

Class I - Critical
Equipment in this category includes any instrument which will be introduced into the patient's bloodstream, through the patient's skin, or into other normally sterile areas. Examples include surgical instruments, implanted devices, cardiac catheters, pacemakers, and so forth. Sterility is required for these instruments.

Class II - Semi-critical
Equipment in this category includes any instrument which will come into contact with intact mucous membranes and does not penetrate body surfaces. Such instruments include non-invasive, non-chaneled endoscopes, endotracheal tubes, MacGill forceps, oropharyngeal airways, endotracheal tube stylets, anesthesia masks, Ambu-bag masks, and so forth. Although sterility is not essential, at a minimum, a high-level disinfection procedure that can be expected to destroy vegetative microorganisms, most fungal spores, tubercle bacilli, and small non-lipid viruses is recommended.

Meticulous physical cleansing followed by an appropriate high-level disinfection process provides a reasonable degree of assurance that the items are free of pathogens.

Class III - Non-critical
Equipment in this category comes in contact with patients and their intact skin. Items in this category include crutches, bed boards, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, and so forth.

Routine cleansing with soap and water and an EPA-approved disinfectant is sufficient to reduce the number of microorganisms on the surface of this equipment. Alcohol may also be used to clean the surface of these items if they are not visibly soiled.