Steam quality monitoring as a strategy to reduce wet packs and sterilization failure.

Autor: Miguel EA; Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Orionce Serviços de Metrologia Ltda, Barueri, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: emerson@orionce.com.br., Dos Santos FP; Santa Catarina Hospital, Central Sterile Supply Department, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Laranjeira PR; Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices, Boca Raton, FL, United States., Ishii M; Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Pinto TJA; Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: American journal of infection control [Am J Infect Control] 2024 Nov; Vol. 52 (11), pp. 1314-1319. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 06.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2024.07.002
Abstrakt: Background: Hospital articles processed by steam are widely used in the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), responsible for due sterilization. Steam sterilization is discussed worldwide, aiming to protect patients. If steam is outside the specified requirements, the sterilization process may fail, resulting in the wet packs at the end of the sterilization cycle.
Methods: The present study evaluated the steam quality at Santa Catarina Hospital (São Paulo, SP, Brazil) from 2016 to 2022. Saturated steam containing noncondensable gases, excess condensate, or even superheat was characterized using the methodology indicated in the European Standard EN 285:2015.
Results: From 2016 to 2020, qualification tests showed that the saturated steam quality does not achieve standard limit parameters. Infrastructural maintenance actions were taken to adjust the saturated steam quality. In 2021, the steam quality followed technical standards, and its adequacy was confirmed in 2022.
Conclusions: The points developed by the hospital's maintenance department, the adoption of appropriate devices for this purpose, and the correct preventive maintenance in the autoclaves, together with the correct qualification of the equipment and proof of the steam quality, contributed to improve the safety of the hospital sterilization process and reduce the incidence of wet packages.
(Copyright © 2024 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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