What is the best practice for handling shared equipment that cannot be disposed?

• A. Share equipment between clients if sanitized quickly.
• B. Use disposable items only.
• C. Use sterilizable equipment with proper sanitation between clients; avoid sharing items that contact blood.
• D. Reuse the same items for multiple clients without sanitation.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is preventing cross-contamination through proper infection control. When equipment can’t be disposed after use, the safest approach is to rely on gear that can be sterilized and to ensure it is properly sterilized between clients. This means cleaning the item, sterilizing it with an approved method (such as autoclaving), and then using it again only in a sterile state for the next client. In addition, items that contact blood must not be shared between clients, because even brief sharing or inadequate sanitizing can transmit bloodborne pathogens. If an item cannot be reliably sterilized between uses, the correct practice is to avoid reusing it for multiple clients and opt for disposable alternatives when possible. Reusing items without sanitation or sharing items that contact blood before proper sterilization are not acceptable practices.