According to World Health Organization, sterilization is the destruction of all micro-organisms and this can be achieved by either physical or chemical methods. There are four accepted methods for sterilization such as steam under pressure, dry heat, ethylene oxide and low-temperature sterilization. By using one of these techniques properly, we are able to effectively sterilize critical medical and surgical instruments.
The absence of sterilization practice in hospitals can lead to life-threatening infection outbreaks such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and re-emerging infectious diseases like plague and tuberculosis. In Indonesia, nosocomial infections are still an ongoing concern, especially among healthcare workers as they are constantly exposed with medical instruments. With these types of highly infectious diseases, every healthcare practice needs to utilize a safe sterilization protocol to be able to carefully prevent the spread of these infections.
According to Forbes, 179 people are exposed to life-threatening bacteria called carbapenem-resistant enterobacteria (CRE). This is a type of bacterial infections that occur from an improperly sterilized endoscope. In 2013, study shows that 15% of endoscopes are still contaminated despite being clean. The problem is due to the complex design of the endoscope, which makes it difficult to remove 100% of the bacteria thus, the debris that is trapped in the narrow channel and ports harbor germs that are as dangerous as CRE.
However, this does not mean that an endoscope, or any other medical instrument for that matter, cannot be cleaned. A low-temperature sterilization technique is one of the many ways that healthcare practitioners can utilize, using the proper equipment, to clean such medical and surgical instruments. Investment in these types of equipment can increase productivity, improve cleaning effectiveness, and decrease healthcare practitioners’ exposure to blood and bodily fluids. Improper sterilization can lead into the transmission of infections between patient and healthcare workers.
Although the cost of having a low-temperature sterilization is expensive, having this type of equipment will surely help suppress the number of nosocomial infection cases. Not only does the equipment ease the sterilization process of medical instruments, it also helps in keeping patients and healthcare workers safe from the exposure of infectious diseases.
Take a look on which sterilization solution we offer here
References :
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/envsan/infcontrolenv_mgmt.pdf?ua=1
https://tuttnauer.com/blog/low-temperature-hydrogen-peroxide-plasma-sterilization
https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/sterilization/sterilizing-practices.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenbrozak/2015/02/20/nightmare-bacteria-and-dirty-scopes-ignorance-and-want-in-medicine/#4a1b8dc821c0