Comparison of the results of the sterilization process with two biological indicators
Keywords:
Antisepsis, Biological markers, Steam sterilizationAbstract
Introduction: Biological indicators are considered a form of approval for the validation and routine monitoring of sterilization cycles, conventional biological indicators use strips or discs with spores of B. Stearthermophilus; On the other hand, the rapid reading biological indicators are based on a flourecent enzymatic reaction capable of providing results in three hours.
Objective: to compare the effectiveness of conventional biological indicators and rapid reading during sterilization processes at 121oC.
Material and method: a descriptive study was carried out in a period of 12 days, each indicator was identified with date, shift, sterilizer number, and sterilization time. Each indicator was separately packed in a medical grade paper bag and placed inside a pack of four belly compresses wrapped in a double cloth compress, a 10 minute preconditioning was performed and all material was exposed to 35 minutes of sterilization with constant temperature of 121oC, the reading of color change was observed in both tests; for 24 hours the results were recorded in a control log for biological indicators.
Results: the results of both conventional biological indicators and rapid reading were negative for all tests after 24 hours of incubation.
Conclusions: the reliability and efficiency of both biological indicators is 100%.
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