Immediate-use steam sterilization (IUSS) should not be used for sterilizing instruments between cases.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only if no autoclave is available
• D. It is preferred over standard sterilization

Answer: (A)

Immediate-use steam sterilization is for urgent, on-the-spot use and is not intended for reprocessing instruments between cases. It bypasses the full cleaning, drying, packaging, and validation steps that ensure every instrument is truly sterile in standard processing. Because of this reduced assurance and the potential for residual debris or incomplete sterilization, using IUSS between cases increases patient risk. The safest practice is to rely on the standard sterilization workflow for reprocessing between surgeries, and reserve IUSS for truly urgent situations where a needed instrument cannot be obtained in time and must be used immediately.