22-02-2013, 10:34 AM
Sterilization – In General
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What’s the process?
Decontamination – removes > 80% of microbes
Sterilization – Kills/inactivates the remaining microbes
What are the Sterilants?
Saturated Steam
Ethylene Oxide
Ozone
Hydrogen Peroxide
High Level Disinfectants (Glutaraldehyde, OPA, PAA)
Steam Sterilization
“Critical” Variables
Time.
Temperature.
Saturated Steam. (Depends on Temperature and Pressure)
Other Variables (Incomplete List)
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Sterilant contact with items to be sterilized
Outside weather changes
Boiler Chemicals
Wrapping Materials
Etc, etc, etc…….
Saturated Steam – What is it?
It is a colourless gas, containing < 3% liquid water
Depends on temperature and pressure
It will condense if it cools down a fraction of a degree
It releases latent or potential heat energy as it condenses
It is the latent or potential heat transferred to microbes that kills/inactivates them
Sterilization Monitoring
We monitor the Process not sterility of items
Because the process is validated (by the manufacturer of the sterilizer) we assume that, if the process functions correctly, the goods in the process will be sterile.
Process Monitors for Steam Sterilization
Individually they provide information, but only together do they tell the whole story!
A failure in any one of the monitors implies the process is incomplete in one or more necessary variables
How do they Work?
Rapid Read BIs
Spore survives the sterilization cycle and is incubated
Nutrients are “tagged” with a U.V. fluorescent dye
As spore consumes nutrients the dye is released and begins to fluoresce
Fluorescence is detected electronically
Process takes up 3 hours to get reliable prediction of kill