Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2021-03-31 Origin: Site
Sterilization pouch for medical use is one of the important factors affecting the sterilization quality of surgical instruments. In order to improve the sterilization quality of surgical items, whether the heat-sealing sterilization pouch expires requires the relevant responsible personnel to pay close attention to. The expired PET/PP compound sterilization pouch should be destroyed or recycled in accordance with relevant standards and must not be used again.
Here is the content list:
What are the advantages of sterilization pouch for easy operation?
Is it possible to perform ETO sterilization again on expired sterilization pouch?
How should medical institutions preserve the sterilization pouch?
Sterilization pouch has many advantages, mainly in the exact sterilization effect and long storage time. The transparent plastic film of the sterilization pouch is composed of a multi-layer composite film, which has good antibacterial performance, and the dialysis paper on the other side has good penetrability.
The equipment and items indispensable for first aid and treatment in each clinical department are packaged in a sterilization pouch, which not only has a long storage time, but also can be used for clinical use at any time, reducing loss and effectively saving human and material resources.
What’s more, there are two chemical discoloration indicator points printed on the sterilization pouch, pressure steam and ethylene oxide. From the diagrams of different colors in appearance, it can be clearly distinguished whether the item has been sterilized. What equipment items are inside to reduce the chance of taking wrong item.
Expiration of disposable medical equipment is not just a problem of sterility. Even if it has not been opened, the sterilization pouch still has the possibility of aging. After re-sterilization, the structure and performance of the sterilization pouch may change.
The sterility of expired sterilization pouch cannot be guaranteed, and there may be bacterial contamination. Whether the treatment method before re-sterilization meets the specifications, the parameter standards for disinfection, and the pollution of heat sources and particles caused by repeated ethylene oxide sterilization are all risks to the user.
More importantly, virtually any material will absorb ethylene oxide, but the amount of residue is different. Repeated sterilization will cause the accumulation of ethylene oxide residue on the self sealing sterilization pouch.
If too much residual ethylene oxide enters the patient's body, it will bind to hemoglobin and cause hypoxia. For many patients who are hypoxic, the symptoms will be more severe.
For the above reasons, the sterilization pouch cannot be reused. The sterilization pouch has good airtightness and good dryness, and the effective time is long. The storage time of sterile items is closely related to the packaging materials, dryness and packaging conditions of the sterilized items.
Therefore, the person in charge of a medical institution device storage should have a complete understanding of the storage method of the sterilization pouch. Generally speaking, the following measures need to be taken to maximize the storage utility of the sterilization pouch:
1. The sterilization pouch used by medical institutions should be stored and used in the order of effective time.
2. Before using the sterilization pouch, you must check the effective time of disinfection and sterilization. The sterilization pouch that exceeds the effective time of disinfection and sterilization must not be used in clinical work.
3. Medical institutions should conduct regular inspections of the sterilization pouch, and find out expired and near-expired ones in a timely manner.
4. If the near-expired sterilization pouch cannot be used up in a short time, the medical institution can contact the material procurement center. The material procurement center will coordinate to other available departments or exchange with the manufacturer.
5. Expired sterilization pouch must not be used, the packaging must be destroyed and disposed of as medical waste.
6. The person in charge of the medical institution should establish and implement a strict management system for expired medical supplies to prevent the use and theft of various expired medical supplies.
For medical institutions, only by establishing a management system for expired medical supplies and regulating the management of expired self-sealing sterilization pouch can the safety of use be ensured. As a professional manufacturer of dental sterilization pouch, Hefei Hanchin Medical Supplies Co., Ltd. has considerable experience in its manufacturing and storage. If you want to know more about medical sterilization pouch, please consult our customer service.
