一個新的術語：即用蒸汽滅菌（IUSS）
在美國，AAMI、AORN、APIC、IAHCSMM等組織建議將快速滅菌修改為“即用滅菌”。在上述幾個組織發表的一份報告中專門描述了Immediate-Use Steam Sterilization（IUSS），先摘錄一部分并給出大致中文翻譯如下：
“Flash sterilization” has traditionally been used to describe steam sterilization cycles where unwrapped medical instruments are subjected to an abbreviated steam exposure time and then used promptly after cycle completion without being stored. This is in contrast to traditional “terminal sterilization” cycles, where instruments are sterilized within containers, wrappers, or primary packaging designed to maintain the instruments’ sterility and allow the devices to be stored for later use. The term “flash” arose out of the abbreviated time of exposure of the unwrapped device.（傳統上，“快速滅菌”用于描述蒸汽滅菌周期，在此程序中，未包裝的醫療器械經受縮短的蒸汽暴露時間，然后在周期完成后立即使用而不被儲存。這與傳統的“最終滅菌”周期相反，傳統的“最終滅菌”周期是將器械置于硬質容器、包裝紙或基本的包裝中進行滅菌，以確保器械的無菌，并允許將滅菌后的器械儲存以供以后使用。 術語“快速”意味著未包裝器械滅菌時暴露時間的縮短）。
Today, however, “flash sterilization” is an antiquated term that does not fully describe the various steam sterilization cycles now used to process items not intended to be stored for later use. Current guidelines may require longer exposure times and/or the use of single wrappers or containers designed to allow for aseptic transfer of an item to the point of use. The term “immediate-use steam sterilization” more accurately reflects the current use of these processes. The same critical reprocessing steps (such as cleaning, decontaminating, and transporting sterilized items) must be followed regardless of the specific sterilization cycle employed; a safe process does not include short-cuts or work-arounds.（然而，現今，“快速滅菌”是一個過時的術語，它并不能完全描述當今用于處理不想存儲以供以后使用的物品的各種蒸汽滅菌程序。 目前的指南可能要求更長的曝光時間和/或使用單個包裝或硬質容器，以允許將物品無菌轉移到使用地點。 術語“即用蒸汽滅菌”更準確地反映了目前這些滅菌程序的使用。不管采用哪種具體的滅菌周期，必須遵循相同的關鍵性的再處理步驟（如清潔，去污和運輸無菌物品）；安全的程序并不包括快捷方式或繞過嚴密的流程來完成活動的解決方式）。
“Immediate use” is broadly defined as the shortest possible time between a sterilized item’s removal from the sterilizer and its aseptic transfer to the sterile field. Immediacy implies that a sterilized item is used during the procedure for which it was sterilized and in a manner that minimizes its exposure to air and other environmental contaminants. A sterilized item intended for immediate use is not stored for future use, nor held from one case to another. Immediacy, rather than being defined according to a specific time frame, is established through the critical analysis and expert collaboration of the health care team.（“立即使用”被廣義地定義為被滅菌的物品從滅菌器移出且無菌轉移到無菌使用地之間的最短時間。 即時，意味著滅菌的物品在其被使用中是無菌的，并且以使其最小化地暴露于空氣和其它環境污染物的方式被使用。 用于立即使用的滅菌物品，不得存儲以備將來使用；也不能從一種保持狀況轉換到另一種。即時性——不是根據具體時間框架定義的，而是通過醫療團隊嚴苛的分析和專家協作建立起來的）。
