Hygiene (infection control) means being able to identify and demonstrate risks, thus preventing damage to patients and personnel.
While there are several recommendations for reprocessing flexible endoscope, these do not guarantee effective and safe reprocessing on a universal scale. These recommendations have been issued by specialist societies, state institutions or expert groups with different vested interests and they are of variable practical relevance and have different objectives.

Steam sterilisation conditions are not unambiguously quantified in the literature and standards. In practical situations, it would be helpful if a set of criteria to assess the actual surface steam sterilisation conditions would be available.
A review of the literature and standards is performed. Results from this review, combined with basic physical calculations, are used to determine numerically quantified steam sterilisation conditions.