Which term describes an item that is designed to be used on one person and then discarded?

• A. Single-use
• B. Multi-use
• C. Disinfection
• D. Cleaning

Answer: (A)

Single-use items are designed to be used on one patient and then discarded. This approach minimizes the chance of transferring microbes from one person to another because the item isn’t reprocessed or reused. It’s a straightforward way to reduce cross-contamination in care settings. Cleaning and disinfection, by contrast, describe processes used to ready reusable items for reuse, not the inherent design of an item. Examples of single-use items include disposable gloves, gauze squares, tongue depressors, and other consumables meant to be discarded after a single patient encounter.