Glutaraldehyde can be used as which of the following?

• A. Used only as a disinfectant for skin
• B. Used only to clean surfaces
• C. Not used in healthcare
• D. Can be used as a chemical sterilant; as a disinfectant, it is used to clean glass thermometers and flexible sigmoidoscopes.

Answer: (D)

Glutaraldehyde acts as a chemical sterilant for heat‑sensitive medical instruments, and it also serves as a high‑level disinfectant for certain semi‑critical devices. When used as a sterilant, items are immersed for extended periods to achieve complete sterilization, which is necessary for devices that cannot be heat-sterilized. As a disinfectant, it can rapidly disinfect or achieve high-level disinfection for equipment like glass thermometers and flexible sigmoidoscopes after proper cleaning. It is not used on skin, and its routine use is not for cleaning general surfaces with mild disinfection. Therefore, it fits as a chemical sterilant, and as a disinfectant it is used for items such as glass thermometers and flexible sigmoidoscopes.