CA1293429C - Eo biological test pack - Google Patents

Eo biological test pack

Info

Publication number
CA1293429C
CA1293429C CA000540394A CA540394A CA1293429C CA 1293429 C CA1293429 C CA 1293429C CA 000540394 A CA000540394 A CA 000540394A CA 540394 A CA540394 A CA 540394A CA 1293429 C CA1293429 C CA 1293429C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
tray
test pack
indicator
biological
syringe
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
CA000540394A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Andrew Alexander Zwarun
Steven T. Buglino
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Surgicot Inc
Original Assignee
Surgicot Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Surgicot Inc filed Critical Surgicot Inc
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1293429C publication Critical patent/CA1293429C/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12QMEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
    • C12Q1/00Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions
    • C12Q1/02Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions involving viable microorganisms
    • C12Q1/22Testing for sterility conditions
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61LMETHODS OR APPARATUS FOR STERILISING MATERIALS OR OBJECTS IN GENERAL; DISINFECTION, STERILISATION OR DEODORISATION OF AIR; CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES; MATERIALS FOR BANDAGES, DRESSINGS, ABSORBENT PADS OR SURGICAL ARTICLES
    • A61L2/00Methods or apparatus for disinfecting or sterilising materials or objects other than foodstuffs or contact lenses; Accessories therefor
    • A61L2/26Accessories or devices or components used for biocidal treatment
    • A61L2/28Devices for testing the effectiveness or completeness of sterilisation, e.g. indicators which change colour

Abstract

ABSTRACT EO BIOLOGICAL TEST PACK A biological test pack adapted for use in testing the efficacy of an ethylene oxide sterilization process is described. The test pack is a clear plastic tray containing an sterilization sensitive ink which has been imprinted on a card which faces out of the bottom of the plastic tray. In addition, the tray contains a plastic syringe which holds a biological indicator. On top of the plastic syringe, absorbent paper is placed. The entire pack has a Tyvek*sheet which seals it until it is used. The plastic tray includes molded means for holding the various items in particularly desirable locations. Accordingly, a disposable test pack which is uniformly manufactured and which should yield consistent results, is described. It can be used either as a general purpose routine test pack or as a validation challenge test pack.

Description

~ 3~4'~

~ W17 EO BIOLOGICAL TEST PACK

The present invention relates to a bioloyical test pack of the type used in hospital sterilization procedures. In parti~ular, the invention relates to a biological test pack o~ the type used in ethylene oxide (EO) sterilization procedures.
Ethylene oxide gas is commonly used in sterilizing items for use in health care facilities. A
common method of testing for the efficacy of the EO
sterilization process is to include a biological indicator in the load being sterilized. A biological indicator is a suspension of a large number of bacterial spores that has been dried on a carrier, e.g., paper, and then inserted into a package, such as a glassine envelope or a plastic vial. The spore suspension is typically comprised of a bacterial species that is very resistant to EO. For example, Bacillus subtilis may be used, and it may be present on the carrier in large numbers. Accordingly, the spore suspension acts as an indicator for the effectiveness of the EO sterilization process. If large numbers of a very EO resistant organism are placed in a load, and if the sterilization process kills those resistant spores, then it is reasonable to conclude that the EO sterilization process was effective.
Since most items that are being EO sterilized are held in some sort of packaging which is intended to m~intain the sterility of the cont~nts of the pack until the time of their use, it is prudent to en~lose the biological indicator inside similar packaging in order to equalize the challenge of killing the spores on ~le biological indicator.

~~
.
34;~

; W17 In order to standardize the packaging challenge, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Irl~trumentation (AAMI) has issued an AAMI Recommended -~ Practice entitled "Good ~ospital Practice: Pexformance Evaluation of Ethylene Oxide Sterilizers -- Ethylene Oxide Test Packs". That document recommends the use of a standardized routine test pack for general purpose EO
sterilizers in which the biological indicator as well as a chemical indicator can be positioned, and also a more resistant challenge pack ~or newly installed EO
sterilizers. The recommended standard challenge test packs consist of a plastic syringe enclosing a biological indicator, the syringe being wrapped in a properly-sized cotton towel, and this entire assembly enclosed inside a wrapping or pouch.
The making of an EO test pack is often a tedious process, as the test packs are laborious to construct, and not all of the necessary materials and components may be present at the institution. In addition, there is no standardized method of manufacturing or selecting the components. Compounding this problem is the fact that the surgical towel compo~ent of the test pack, which acts as a heat sink and moisture absorber in the test pack, is inherently susceptible to variation, because surgical towels are subject to large changes in their characteristics. For example, after each successive Iaundering, a surgical towel loses some of its fiber content and ~hus its capacity to provide a heat and moisture challenge. If it is laundered and then ironed, the towel may ~e so dry that it provides tDo much of a challenge to moisture absorption.
In order to minimize the above problems, it would be desirable to have an EO indicator test pack that yields the same rate of survival or death of a biological indicator as does the AAMI-described pack, ~ W17 L~t which would be ~ully disposable (no need to stockpile pack materials for reuse). It would also be desirable to have such a test pack be of standarized construction to eliminate variations from pack to pack, and to have it be preloaded with an appropriate biological indicator to eliminate labor reguired for assembly. Such a pack should behave in a manner which is eguivalent to the biological indicator test pack recommended by AAMI for routine use in general purpose EO sterilizers. A challenge test pack is somewhat different from a test pack used for routine general purpose monitoring in that it provides more of a challenge to spore kill. A challenge test pack is used primarily during installation and validation of a new or repaired EO sterilizer. It is also desirable that the test pack yield results consistent with the results of the challenge test pack described by AAMI.

The present invention is a standardized, disposable ethylene oxide (EO) biological test pack consisting of a plastic tray whi~h holds absor~ent paper, a plastic syringe containing a biological indicator, and a record card preprinted with an EO-sensitive indicatox. A peel back sheet is used to seal the test pacX until it is used.

FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the test pac~ o~ ~ne present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the test pack of FIG. 1 taken along the lines 2-2 o~ FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the test pack of FIG. 1 ta~en along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;
; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the test pack _ _ of FIG. 1 taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2; and FIG. 5 is a side view of the syringe included in ~93~9 the test pa~k of the present invention.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-5, the test pack 10 of the present invention is constructed of a clear plastic blister tray 12 which is sealed with a peel off lid 14 (shown i~ FIGS. 1-3), comprised of Tyve~ in the preferred embodiment of the invention. Alternatively, a paper lid can be used.
Inside ~he blister tray 12 is a indica~or card 16 ~hat is placed on raised bumps 18 on the bottom of the blister tray 12 in order to prevent any potential condensate from damaging the indicator card 16. The indicator card 16 is printed with an EO~sensitive ink, so it serves as both an internal indicator of the sterilization process and as a record ke~ping card on which the resul~s of the biological indicator test can be recorded. The indicator card 16 can ~hen be stored with a record keeping system after i~ has been exposed.
Another advantage of the present design employing a clear blister tray 12 and indicator card 16 is the fact that the indicator card 16, even though located in the area that is most distant from the point of sterilant entry (the lid), is visible at all times.
If, after EO processing, the ink on the indicator card 16 shows under-processing, then there would be no need to test the biological indicator 20, which is within the syringe 22. This could be a time, labor, and cost savings feature that could not be obtained if the indicator card 16 were not present, not visible, or discolored behind a tinted or hazy tray.
Above the indicator card 16 and resting in a * Trade-mark . ,, ., ;.

. .

~L293~2~

Wq7 premolded seat is the plastic syringe 22 that contains the biological indicator 20, which may be an envelope-enclosed spore strip or a self-contained biological indicator of the type known in the art.
The design is such that the piston of the syringe 22 ls required to be pulled out a certain distance if it is to fit inside the formed s~ringe seat 24 within the tray 12.
Resting over the syringe 22 on its own molded supports 26 are sheets of absorbent paper 28. The size, weight, and composition of the absorbent paper 28 can be used to control not only moisture absorption, but also the rate o~ EO entry in~o the pack 10. This is accomplished by ~he inwardly protruding supports which, together with correctly sized absorbent paper, create a rate-limiting, tortuous opening 29 through which EO can pass to the biological indicator inside the syringe.
The lid 14 seals the pack 10 and, being Tyvek in the preferret embodiment, it c~n withstand compression and damage and allows for easy ~pening of the pack.
Paper can also be used, but it can tear if one test pack 10 i~ pressed against another's paper lid 12 or upon ope~.ng.
The present inven~ion provides a ~umber Of advantages, as well as ~ method of standardizing the variability inherent in the surgical towel Gompo~ent of a test pack. It has been found that using 10 sheets of a certain type of absorbent paper, cut to specific dimensions, a~d placed one sheet on top of ano~her yields a imilar rate and amount of moisture absorption as that obtained with using the recommend~d 18x30 inch, all-cotton huckaback surgical towel weighi~g ~Z~3~29 .

Wq7 .

approximately 70 grams (g). One exampIe of absorbent paper which has worked well is 100# white blotter stock paper. This particular absorbent paper cut 4" x 7.5"
and stacked 10 sheets high, yields approximately the same amount and rate of moisture absorption as does a 70-gram surgical towel. In this manner a test pack could be designed to mimic the moisture controlling properties of a surgical towel, but the variability associated with launderable fabrics is eliminated. In addition, absorbent paper is guite inexpensive compared to surgical towels, so it is now economical to have a disposable test pack.
I f the test pack is placed vertically on its long edge, the EO sterilant can penetrate the entire Tyvek lid before it comes to the first restrictive opening--the opening between the absorbent paper sheets and the tray. In this manner the test pack acts as a routine general purpose test pack. If the test pack is placed upside-down (on its Tyvek lid), the absorbent paper rests directly on the lid and further restricts EO
entry through the lid, thus increasing the resistance to EO entry into the test pack. In this configuration, the test pack acts as a challenge test pack suitable ~or steriliæer validation. By merely changing the positioning o~ the test pacX, it is able to function either as a challenge test pack or as a routine general purpose test pack.

: ~ :
.

Claims (7)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A biological test pack for use in ethylene oxide sterilization processes comprising:
(a) a clear, colorless plastic tray including syringe holding means molded therein for holding a syringe containing a biological indicator;
(b) indicator card holding means associated with said tray for holding an indicator card adjacent to the bottom of said tray in a position in which said indicator card is raised away from possible condensate and is visible from outside of said tray;
(c) absorbent paper holding means associated with said tray for holding absorbent paper over said syringe;
(d) a syringe containing a biological indicator of the type including a glassine enclosed or a self-contained biological indicator, said syringe being held in place within said tray by said syringe holding means;
(e) an indicator card having a sterilization sensitive ink imprinted thereon, said indicator card being held in said tray by said indicator card holding means with said ink imprint facing out of said tray; and (f) absorbent paper held in place within said tray over said syringe by said absorbent paper holding means, whereby the combination creates a rate-limiting tortuous opening; and (g) means for sealing the top of said tray until it is ready for use.
2. The biological test pack of Claim 1 wherein said syringe holding means is molded into said plastic tray.
3. The biological test pack of Claim 2 wherein said indicator card holding means is molded into said plastic tray.
4. The biological test pack of Claim 3 wherein said absorbent paper holding means is molded into said plastic tray.
5. The biological test pack of Claim 4 wherein said biological indicator is a self-contained biological indicator or glassine enclosed spore strip.
6. The biological test pack of Claim 5 wherein said absorbent paper is comprised of a stack of individual sheets of absorbent paper wherein said paper yields a similar amount and rate of moisture absorption as an all-cotton surgical towel.
7. The biological test pack of Claim 6 wherein said means for sealing the top of said tray is comprised of a Tyvek sheet which is adhesively attached to the top of said tray.
CA000540394A 1986-06-24 1987-06-23 Eo biological test pack Expired - Lifetime CA1293429C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US06/877,947 US4828797A (en) 1986-06-24 1986-06-24 EO biological test pack
US877,947 1986-06-24

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1293429C true CA1293429C (en) 1991-12-24

Family

ID=25371065

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000540394A Expired - Lifetime CA1293429C (en) 1986-06-24 1987-06-23 Eo biological test pack

Country Status (9)

Country Link
US (1) US4828797A (en)
EP (1) EP0254428B1 (en)
JP (1) JPS633862A (en)
AT (1) ATE77146T1 (en)
AU (1) AU603799B2 (en)
CA (1) CA1293429C (en)
DE (1) DE3779698T2 (en)
ES (1) ES2031895T3 (en)
GR (1) GR3005642T3 (en)

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US5955296A (en) * 1997-01-27 1999-09-21 Steritec Products Inc. Biological test pack for ethylene oxide sterilization
US5895627A (en) * 1997-02-28 1999-04-20 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Simplified ethylene oxide sterilization test pack
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US20080107564A1 (en) * 2006-07-20 2008-05-08 Shmuel Sternberg Medical fluid access site with antiseptic indicator
JP5118389B2 (en) * 2007-05-26 2013-01-16 中村製作所株式会社 Method for forming recess in workpiece
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE3779698T2 (en) 1992-12-10
EP0254428B1 (en) 1992-06-10
ATE77146T1 (en) 1992-06-15
AU7336287A (en) 1988-01-07
EP0254428A3 (en) 1989-02-08
GR3005642T3 (en) 1993-06-07
DE3779698D1 (en) 1992-07-16
AU603799B2 (en) 1990-11-29
JPS633862A (en) 1988-01-08
EP0254428A2 (en) 1988-01-27
ES2031895T3 (en) 1993-01-01
US4828797A (en) 1989-05-09

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