Cleaning of instruments: an absolute requirement for successful reprocessing.

Cleaning of medical devices, and the validation and verification of this cleaning, has advanced greatly, even in the last five years. It is recognized as an essential part of the reprocessing of reusable medical devices, and is becoming more and more consistent as device manufacturers and the FDA give cleaning more consideration when a device is brought to market. Scrupulous care must be taken to ensure that the cleaning approach for each device is appropriate (but similar items can be reprocessed in a similar manner). There is no replacement for excellent training and maintainance of equipment, but available tests can help ensure that failures are caught earlier rather than later.