Can a humid storage environment of surgical instruments before reprocessing increase patient safety and durability of instruments?
National and international guidelines recommend reprocessing of medical instruments to commence as soon as possible post-surgery; furthermore, they recommend that transport and storage of surgical instruments postoperatively occurs in a moist, humid atmosphere. The concern is that a dry storage environment results in deterioration of instruments.
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether humid environment for storing surgical instruments until reprocessing reduces the occurrence of corrosion, as well as the occurrence and accumulation of biological material compared to instruments stored in a dry environment.
The study identified no associations between neither storage environment and the amount of protein residue nor between storage environment and the occurrence of surface corrosion. However, the cleanliness and durability of instruments seemed to be dependent on the number of reprocessing cycles rather than storage environment.
Funding: Aalborg University Hospital: 160.000 DKK
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