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...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, internal moisture may remain undetected until the packaged instrument set is opened for use

Images