Post-steam sterilization moisture-indicating methods and articles

Abstract

Methods for detecting moisture are described. The methods include sequential steps: (a) subjecting an article comprising a reversible moisture-indicating medium to steam sterilization in a steam sterilizer to produce a sterilized article; (b) subjecting the sterilized article to drying to reduce moisture in the sterilized article; (c) removing the sterilized article from the steam sterilizer; and (d) determining the level of moisture in the sterilized article after step (c) based on at least one property of the moisture-indicating medium. Packages comprising reversible steam-sterilization-compatible moisture-indicating media, including post-steam sterilization wet pack indicators, are also described

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates to methods and packages for detecting moisture after steam sterilization using a reversible moisture vapor indicator. Background technique [0002] Within a hospital's Central Sterilization (CS) Department, medical devices are cleaned, assembled, processed, packaged, stored, and dispatched for patient care. Medical instruments are received from the operating theater into the sterilization area of ​​the central sterilization department. Here, instruments are manually cleaned and disinfected and visually assessed for cleanliness before being placed in an automatic washer-disinfector. Once processed in the washer-disinfector, instruments are visually inspected before being packaged and placed in the sterilizer. After sterilization, keep the instruments until needed in the operating room. [0003] The time between sterilization and use can range from minutes to weeks, so packaging materials and methods must allow penetrati...

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Problems solved by technology

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