What is necessary to achieve surgical asepsis in a clinical setting?

Achieving surgical asepsis in a clinical setting primarily involves sterilizing instruments. This is critical because surgical asepsis is the practice of creating and maintaining a sterile environment to prevent any potential infection during invasive procedures. Sterilization is the process that eliminates all forms of microbial life, including bacteria, viruses, and spores, from the instruments used during surgery.

While the other practices, such as wearing gloves, using antiseptic wipes, and utilizing alcohol-based hand rubs, contribute to reducing the number of microorganisms and protecting against infection, they do not ensure the complete elimination of all pathogens. For instance, gloves can become contaminated during procedures, and antiseptic wipes may reduce microbial load but do not sterilize items. Alcohol-based hand rubs help in disinfecting hands but do not substitute for the sterilization of surgical instruments. Therefore, the proper sterilization process is essential to achieve and maintain surgical asepsis.