STERILIZATION &amp; CROSS INFECTION IN DENTISTRY;

Zahid, Sadaf; Rafiq, Anam; Zahra, Saman; Ilyas, Muhammad

doi:10.29309/tpmj/18.4433

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…13 Because recycling these plastics in the health sector carries risks of cross-infection and contamination, the current destruction methods aim to provide the population with more security. 1,8,[15][16][17][18] The recently published study "Environmental sustainability practices in Portuguese dental clinics" concluded that clinical directors showed good environmental awareness and satisfactory implementation of environmental sustainability practices in dental clinics and that costs were the most report-ed barrier to implementing further practices. This study triggered the interest in finding a safe, easy, cheap solution for dental clinics to implement that would also be sustainable and eco-friendly, allowing the mitigation of the effects of the waste produced by single-use plastic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study triggered the interest in finding a safe, easy, cheap solution for dental clinics to implement that would also be sustainable and eco-friendly, allowing the mitigation of the effects of the waste produced by single-use plastic. 17,18 For the reasons stated above, sterilization pouches were considered the ideal specimen for this study because they do not come into contact with the patient and consist of a paper/ plastic bag with one side made of medical-grade paper and the other made of a thin plastic film. They cover medical instruments before their sterilization in the autoclave and are currently thrown away after the sterilized instruments are unpacked.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Road to Sustainability in Dentistry – Is the Reuse of Sterilization Pouches Viable?

2023

j.rpemd

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To answer the question: Can sterilized pouches be used a second time while maintaining their sterility conditions?Methods: This investigation tested paper/plastic sterilization pouches divided into three groups: experimental group -twice-used pouches; negative control group -once-used pouches; and positive control group -environmentally contaminated pouches. In the experimental group, pouches were opened, a gauze dressing was placed into them, and they were sterilized again, representing the reuse of the pouches (second sterilization cycle). After the sterilization cycle, samples were stored for 1 day (T 0 ), 7 days (T 1 ), 31 days (T 2 ), and 153 days (T 3 ). Positive control group pouches were opened and exposed to contamination in the storage environment. After the specified storage period, the experimental and negative control groups' pouches were opened, and the gauze dressings were removed aseptically. All gauze dressings of all groups, including the positive control group, were incubated in Petri dishes with nutrient agar at 37°C for 3 days. After incubation, the Petri dishes were inspected, and the microbial contamination was assessed and classified as present or absent. Results:The experimental group's Petri dishes showed no sign of contamination. The same happened to the negative control group. The positive control group's Petri dishes presented microbial contamination. The same results were obtained for all incubation times.Conclusions: This study showed that sterilization pouches could be used a second time while maintaining sterility and integrity conditions, even for extended periods (153 days -5 months of storage).

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