Central Service - Issue 4/2012
 NEWS UPDATE
- What's New in Standardisation: Small Steam Sterilizers
- Instrument management - an integral component of a QM system. 8th Swiss Conference on Sterilization
- Rising to educational excellence - the basis for quality in medical device reprocessing. IAHCSMM Conference, 29 April - 2 May 2012, Albuquerque, USA
- The CSSD in Transition. P.E.G. Seminar, 5 July 2012, Augsburg
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Ulrike Kircheis and Markus Wehr:
Method for Testing the Cleaning and Disinfecting Efficacy of Washer-Disinfectors for Flexible Endoscopes
DISCUSSION
S. Esen, F. Tessarolo, R.J. Hermsen and J.P.C.M. van Doornmalen:
Current reference devices for hollow instrument loads as de?ned in standards are not a valid steam penetration test
Abstract
In hospitals steam sterilization is an important aspect of infection prevention. Testing of steam penetration is a necessity. In some cases a hollow helix shaped Process Challenge (PCD) device is suggested as steam penetration test for hollow instruments. Since the introduction of these hollow A, hollow load, helix, or helix shaped PCD in standards, discussions about the use of these PCDs are ongoing. Conclusive experimental data on these hollow PCDs was not found in the literature. For the present study a strictly defined helix shaped PCD «reference» device was manufactured. Its performance was tested in a small (11 l) and a large (342 l) test steam sterilizer and compared with the minimum requirements for steam penetration defined in the ISO standards. It was found that this device does not fulfill these minimum requirements. Also these results indicate that hollow A or helix PCDs as presently defined in standards should not be used as steam penetration test in steam sterilization processes. Consequently, PCDs tested against this reference PCD or standard will also not meet the requirements for steam penetration. These PCDs should therefore not be used as steam penetration test for hollow instruments.
EDUCATION
P. Heeg:
Update on methicillin-resistant staphylococci: Occurrence outside hospitals and nursing homes
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