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Sterile Processing Flashcards With the CDC Citation
Flip a card, read the term, then read the CDC or AAMI sentence behind the answer. No account, no login, nothing saved off your phone.
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Biological & chemical indicators
Biological monitoring for implant loads
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The short answer
Sterile processing flashcards test the definitions the CRCST exam and the job itself run on: the three Spaulding disinfection levels, steam sterilization cycle parameters, the difference between a chemical and a biological indicator, and personal protective equipment. Every card's answer carries the exact CDC sentence that supports it, with the date it was read.
13 cards across four categories. Filter to one category or work through the full deck; it reshuffles every time you reach the end so a second pass is not the same order as the first.
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Every card, in the CDC and AAMI's words
The reference below is the entire deck: every term and the sentence that backs it, readable without flipping a single card.
Disinfection levels
The Spaulding categories and what each one minimally requires.
Sterilization cycles
Steam parameters, exposure times, and the Bowie-Dick test.
Biological & chemical indicators
What each indicator actually proves, and what it does not.
PPE
What the guideline requires beyond gloves.
What this category leaves out. The free question bank (domains 2 to 5) has one item that is purely about protective equipment. The rest of the repo's verified PPE content sits in the paid domain 1 bank, and a free tool cannot borrow it without giving away paid content.
Ready for exam-style questions?
Flashcards test recall of a definition. Answering a question under the same conditions as the exam is a different skill, and the free test is scored domain by domain so it tells you where you actually lose points.
Questions people ask
What do these sterile processing flashcards cover?
The three Spaulding disinfection levels, steam sterilization cycle parameters and the Bowie-Dick test, the difference between chemical and biological indicators, and personal protective equipment for manual cleaning. Each card's answer is the exact CDC sentence that supports it, with the date it was read.
What is the difference between a chemical and a biological indicator?
A chemical indicator shows a pack was exposed to a sterilization cycle, not that it is sterile. A biological indicator is the only kind that directly monitors the lethality of the process itself, because it uses a live, highly resistant spore that a failed cycle would leave alive.
What are the minimum steam sterilization exposure times?
The CDC guideline gives 30 minutes at 121 degrees Celsius in a gravity displacement sterilizer, or 4 minutes at 132 degrees Celsius in a prevacuum sterilizer. The prevacuum cycle is shorter because a vacuum pump removes air before steam is admitted.