Anesthetic Equipment as a Source of Infection.

Jacoby, Jay; Ziegler, C

doi:10.1213/00000539-195609000-00004

Cited by 18 publications

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“…The role played by viruses and spores in the transmission of infection in the anaesthetic environment has yet to be fully established. Ziegler and Jacoby (1956) have stressed the importance of cleaning anaesthetic equipment before definitive decontamination. The objectives are:…”

Section: Methods Of Decontaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decontamination of Anaesthetic Equipment and Ventilators

Lumley

1976

British Journal of Anaesthesia

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For some years there has been concern over the role of anaesthetic and ventilatory equipment in the transmission of infection. It is known that those pieces of anaesthetic apparatus which come in direct contact with the skin and mucous membranes of the patient (face mask, airway, endotracheal tube, catheter mounts, suction catheters) are all liable to become contaminated with microorganisms (Stark, Green and Pask, 1962). Jenkins and Edgar (1964) found all the corrugated tubing in one hospital to be contaminated with Pseudomonas pyocyanea, and showed experimentally that a small proportion of these organisms could be caught up in the inspiratory gas. They showed further that coughing into anaesthetic apparatus caused heavy contamination of masks and Y-pieces, and that soda-lime in a Waters' canister was ineffective as a bacterial filter. However, as a result of experimental work, Stark, Green and Pask (1962) concluded that it was unlikely that infection would be transmitted from patient to patient via anaesthetic machines, but did state that if a patient was known to be infected with virulent organisms, then readily sterilizable apparatus should be used. Virtually every organism has been isolated from anaesthetic equipment, and transmission of infection from such apparatus to patient has been confirmed in a number of instances (

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Section: Methods Of Decontaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decontamination of Anaesthetic Equipment and Ventilators

Lumley

1976

British Journal of Anaesthesia

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“…The case is presented to emphasize the fact that in adults with morphologic evidence of cytomegalic inclusion disease, there is frequently a history of having received multiple blood transfusions. [3][4][5] Report of a Case A 44-year-old Negro man was admitted to the hospital in shock after sustaining chest, head, and abdominal in¬ juries after he was pinned under heavy machinery. His past history was noncontributory and there was no known recent upper-respiratory tract infection or "flu."…”

Section: Cytomegalic Inclusion Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…[3][4][5] Sterilization of anesthesia equipment presents a rather difficult problem. Although certain items can apparently be sterilized by satisfactory techniques, bulky rubber items do not lend themselves to these techniques, and, in addition, must be processed in considerable quantity to meet the demands of a busy operating schedule.…”

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Sterilization of Anesthesia Apparatus

Meeks¹,

Pembleton²,

Hench³

1967

JAMA

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THE importance of sterilization of anesthesia equipment and the relationship between contaminated equipment and subsequent infection has not been established.It has been recommended that since anesthesia equipment is exposed to a heavily contaminated area of the body meticulous care should be exercised in the handling and sterilization of apparatus.1 Other workers, however, have either failed to detect significant contamination in a considerable part of the apparatus2 or have concluded that it was unlikely that cross-infection would occur.3-5 Sterilization of anesthesia equipment presents a rather difficult problem. Although certain items can apparently be sterilized by satisfactory techniques, bulky rubber items do not lend themselves to these techniques, and, in addition, must be processed in considerable quantity to meet the demands of a busy operating schedule. Germicides which are effective against certain organisms under certain conditions may be unsatisfactory under other conditions. Chemicals which have been found to be good bactericidal agents may be unsatisfactory because they are corrosive. This study was undertaken to determine the extent and character of contamination of anesthe¬ sia equipment, and to determine the effectiveness of a new germicide, buffered glutaraldehyde.8 Method Face masks, breathing tubes, rebreathing bags, endotracheal tubes, and Y connectors used in anes¬ thesia for operations in two wings of the operating suite were cultured after use and again after clean¬ ing with one of the following routines.Routine A.-Face masks, breathing tubes, and rebreathing bags were thoroughly washed in hexachlorophene and water, and connectors and endo¬ tracheal tubes were cleaned by brushing with hexachlorophene and water. All items were then thoroughly rinsed and soaked in 70% ethyl alcohol for 20 minutes.Routine B.-The above routine of cleaning with hexachlorophene followed by rinsing was carried out, and then all items were soaked in a solution of buffered glutaraldhyde for ten minutes.Equipment used for operations in one wing of the operating suite was subjected to routine A and that of the other wing was subjected to routine B on any given day. On alternate days the order of cleaning was reversed. Equipment used in 100 op¬ erations was selected for the testing of each of the routines.Representative items of anesthesia equipment were selected. In the course of the experiment 100 samples were taken from face masks, 100 from breathing bags, and 100 from Y connectors, and 200 were taken from rebreathing tubes (since there are two tubes in each set) for each of the cleaning routines. The samples were taken after use and again after employing one of the cleaning routines. Since endotracheal techniques were not employed in all of the operations, fewer endotracheal tubes were available for the test.Sample equipment from five additional cases was processed with cleaning routine B, cultured, and stored in plastic bags previously sterilized with ethylene-oxide. At intervals of 6, 30, 54, 78, and 102 hour...

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“…Besides, one may suspect the likelihood of viruses being thus transmitted. 25 Generally, subsequent work has supported Magath's view and decontamination guidelines have been set out to prevent the theoretical chance of disease transmission [26][27][28][29][30][31] .…”

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confidence: 99%

History of Infection Control in Anaesthesia

1996

Anaesth Intensive Care

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Generally the basic sciences of physics, chemistry and mathematics and the applied sciences of anatomy, physiology and pharmacology are associated with the history of the development and advancement of anaesthesia. In considering the history of infection control in anaesthesia, the contribution of microbiology must be added to the above. When sifting through old books and journals it is often difficult to understand the stimuli for the leaps of progress; I believe the zeitgeist is often the invisible (to our eyes) all important factor. An attempt to briefly illustrate some of the main events and characters follows.

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Anesthetic Equipment as a Source of Infection.

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Decontamination of Anaesthetic Equipment and Ventilators

Decontamination of Anaesthetic Equipment and Ventilators

Sterilization of Anesthesia Apparatus

History of Infection Control in Anaesthesia

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