Basic washing techniques significantly reduced bacterial contamination on disposable equipment, offering potential emergency contingency options during critical supply shortages.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Bacterial Reduction: Researchers evaluated dishwashing liquid, 70% alcohol, and peracetic acid, discovering that all three methods significantly decreased bacterial contamination on disposable medical tools without noticeable functional damage.
- Elimination on Airway Tools: Before decontamination, respiratory pathogens were found on nearly half of evaluated airway devices, but zero samples tested positive after undergoing basic washing protocols.
- Strict Contingency Measure: Investigators stressed that these simple cleaning strategies do not replace standard sterilization protocols or establish clinical safety, serving strictly as emergency last-resort measures during severe crisis supply disruptions.
Three simple cleaning methods substantially reduced bacterial contamination on used single-use medical devices (SUD), according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg. The findings, published in the journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, indicate that such approaches could serve as last-resort contingency measures during extreme healthcare supply shortages triggered by war or disaster situations.
Supply chain disruptions involving single-use equipment present significant operational risks during widespread medical emergencies, similar to challenges documented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To examine viable field-condition strategies, investigators tested ordinary dishwashing liquid, 70% alcohol, and peracetic acid on 90 used single-use devices across six distinct categories collected from operating rooms. SUDs included:
Ninety clinically used SUDs were evaluated, including:
- endotracheal tubes (ETT)
- laryngeal mask airway (LMA)
- intravenous administration sets (IVS)
- syringes (SYR),
- indwelling urinary catheters (IDC), and
- nasogastric tubes (NGT)
The devices underwent brushing, soaking, and air-drying protocols designed to reflect low-resource healthcare environments, with all three solutions demonstrating marked bacterial reductions and showing no measurable variance in overall effectiveness between them.
Efficacy on Airway Devices
Prior to cleaning, laboratory evaluations identified respiratory infectious agents on 14 of 30 airway device samples, according to the research team. Following the decontamination protocol, all 30 airway samples tested negative for those pathogens, and investigators observed no visible alterations to the mechanical function or physical structure of the devices.
“Simple cleaning methods can reduce the amount of microorganisms on used equipment. This does not replace sterile equipment, but the knowledge could prove useful in a disaster or wartime situation,” said Karl Chevalley, doctoral student at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and senior consultant in prehospital intensive care at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
Contamination Risks and Safety Caveats
The study highlighted key operational hazards, noting evidence of potential cross-contamination when syringes and infusion devices were cleaned in the same batch as other tools. According to the report, this cross-contamination risk was resolved when syringes and infusion tools were processed separately from other inventory.
“Emergency stockpiles and functioning supply chains are the most important. But in war or a disaster, emergency and contingency methods are needed as a last resort,” said Göran Sandström, researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and the Swedish Defence University.
The authors emphasized that the investigation assessed only a small volume of items over a single cleaning cycle and does not prove that reprocessed single-use devices are safe for reuse on patients, underscoring that further trials are required.
