Microbiological evaluation of the steam sterilization of assembled laparoscopic instruments.
Tamara Carolina de Camargo, Kazuko Uchikawa Graziano, Alda Graciele Claudio Dos Santos Almeida and 3 others
PMID 27878222WHAT IT FOUND
Assembled laparoscopic instruments had no microbiologic growth after steam sterilization at 134 C for 5 minutes.
This can guide sterile supply practice, but it did not test patient infections.
Key findings
01Assembled laparoscopic instruments had no microbiologic growth after sterilization with saturated steam at 134 C for 5 minutes.
02Positive controls showed satisfactory growth, and the paper says this confirmed the spore challenge and culture conditions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a laboratory instrument test, not a clinical trial in patients, so it does not show infection rates or patient outcomes. The instruments tested were new and not previously used in humans, so real-world bioburden and instrument wear were not tested. The study tested only a limited set of laparoscopic instruments and one specific autoclave cycle, so the result may not apply to other instruments or settings.
Declared interests
This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), process #2011/05759-0, and is extracted from a doctoral dissertation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that sterilizing assembled laparoscopic instruments prevents surgical infections in patients. The study measured microbiologic growth in instrument cultures, not clinical outcomes.