Leading hygiene institutes such as the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) recommend to use a thermal, machine disinfection process to clean care utensils. Disinfection performance is defined by the A0 value.
THE A0 VALUE...
... is a way to measure how many microorganisms are killed or inactivated in moist-heat disinfection processes.
... is a disinfection parameter that should be reached on the surface of medical devices.
... is based on effectivetemperature-time ratio.
... can be measured using a data-registration device called thermologger.
... is defined in the following norm: EN DIN ISO 15883-1.
Low temperatures for a long contact time
= same efficacy =
as high temperatures for a short contact time
Contact time |
| Temperature | A0 value |
In minutes | In seconds | In °C | |
10 | 600 | 70 | 60 |
1 | 60 | 80 | |
6 | 90 | ||
100 | 6,000 | 70 | 600 |