Microbiological evaluation of the effect of the humidity and the temperature in the storage area of steam sterilized materials in different packings

• Grant number: 09/09140-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2009
• End date: October 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nursing - Medical-Surgical Nursing
• Principal Investigator: Kazuko Uchikawa Graziano
• Grantee: Kazuko Uchikawa Graziano
• Host Institution: Escola de Enfermagem (EE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

One of the variables that intervene with the maintenance of the sterility of the materials is the storage. Many are the recommendations, officials and not-officials, made for the temperature (T) and the relative humidity of the air (RU) of this physical area, even so without theoretical or experimental basement. Nor all the hospitals possess system that makes possible the control of the T and the RU and the area where the sterilizers are use to be contiguous to the storage area, liberating heat and humidity constantly. Considering that one of the functions of the packing is to keep the sterility of the content despite under adverse conditions, the recommendation for ambient control of the storage area would have a secondary importance. Lamentably institutions have been warned for the sanitary authorities for not keeping T and RU in the parameters officially determined. That leads to the doubt about how much the control of the T and the UR real matters in the contamination of articles stored after sterilization. Therefore, an experimental study will be carried through, where boxes contend surgical instruments and rings of porcelain, packing in muslin, creped paper, SMS and peel pouch, sterilized, contaminated external and intentionally with Serratia marcescens 106/mL and stored in environment with T around 35°C and RU around 100%. The results will be compared with a control group that will be stored in temperature around 20°C and UR around 70%, parameters these recommended by literature. After the period of 1 month of storage the porcelain will be removed from the boxes and will be incubated for recovery of the microrganisms. (AU)