Surgical Tech Practice Exam

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Prepare for the Surgical Tech Exam with comprehensive quizzes and detailed explanations. Enhance your knowledge and skills to confidently tackle the surgical technology certification.

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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How long must pass before the biological indicator can be read and recorded?

12 hours
24 hours
48 hours
72 hours

The correct answer is: 24 hours

The correct duration before a biological indicator can be read and recorded is typically 24 hours. This timeframe allows sufficient time for microbial growth to occur if any organisms are present, thereby providing an accurate assessment of the efficacy of the sterilization process. Reading the biological indicator at the 24-hour mark ensures that any spores present have had adequate time to grow and produce a measurable change in the indicator. Shortening this timeframe may lead to false conclusions about the sterilization process, as results might not fully reflect whether the sterilization was effective. If a biological indicator is read too soon, it could incorrectly suggest that the sterilization was successful when it may not have been. Therefore, adhering to a 24-hour period is crucial for reliable results in monitoring sterilization quality.