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The antibacterial efficacy of three alcohol-based products (liquid and gel) were tested on the hands with blood and contaminated with Serratia marcescens (ATCC 14756), using EN 1500 procedures in 14 healthy volunteers. The alcohol-based products tested, either gel or liquid-based, reached bacterial reduction levels higher than 99.9% in the presence of blood and did not differ significantly (ANOVA test; P = 0.614)., (Copyright © 2011 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The objective of this integrative literature review was to find evidence to support using ozone as a sterilizing agent for health products. The search was performed on the following bases: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, COCHRANE, COMPENDEX, INSPEC and ENGINEERING RESEARCH DATABASE; using ozone and sterilization as descriptors. Five articles were found between 1990 and 2008, which tested ozone as a sterilizer. All studies used the same type of investigation (experimental laboratory study) and achieved sterilization with ozone, but with different scopes and products, besides using different methodological procedures. Considering the ever-growing technology for new products, with the vast range of forms and materials, the findings point at ozone sterilization as a promising method, but still in an initial phase of investigation. Further experimental studies are needed to provide broader evidence regarding the possibilities and limitations of ozone sterilization.

This is an integrative review of Brazilian studies on evidence-based practices (EBP) in health, published in ISI/JCR journals in the last 10 years. The aim was to identify the specialty areas that most accomplished these studies, their foci and methodological approaches. Based on inclusion criteria, 144 studies were selected. The results indicate that most EBP studies addressed childhood and adolescence, infectious diseases, psychiatrics/mental health and surgery. The predominant foci were prevention, treatment/rehabilitation, diagnosis and assessment. The most used methods were systematic review with or without meta-analysis, protocol review or synthesis of available evidence studies, and integrative review. A strong multiprofessional expansion of EBP is found in Brazil, contributing to the search for more selective practices by collecting, recognizing and critically analyzing the produced knowledge. The study also contributes to the analysis itself of ways to do research and new research possibilities.

This experimental, comparative, laboratory study evaluated the effectiveness of the sterilization of single-use laparoscopic instruments--SULIs (grasper, dissector, scissors, Veress needle and electrosurgical probe system), after contamination-challenge with bacterial spores and sheep blood, and compared the results of the sterilization tests with those of the equivalent reusable instruments. The cleaning methods used were; ultrasonic washer with pulsatile water jet and enzymatic detergent, manual cleaning, cleaning with pressurized water and rinsing. The SULIs were sterilized with ethylene oxide and the reusable instruments in an autoclave. Sterility tests showed 100% negative results for recovery of contaminate microorganisms in both groups. It was concluded that, regarding the sterilization, that it is possible to reprocess SULIs.

The doubt regarding the re-sterilization of articles made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sterilized with gamma radiation (GR) and subsequently with ethylene oxide (EO) persists to date. Through a systematic literature review, this article analyzed studies that demonstrated compatibilities and incompatibilities between the sterilization processes with GR and EO, when used as consecutive sterilization methods. Seven studies were analyzed. It was verified that there is a multifactor influence regarding the safety of the procedure and that the chromatography analytical method employed by most studies yielded controversial results. This fact indicates the need for further studies on the issue, using more sensitive analytical methods than gas chromatography, such as the biological reactivity test in cell cultures, in an attempt to clarify the chronic doubt regarding the adequacy or inadequacy of sterilizing previously gamma-irradiated materials with EtO.

Moist/wet materials stored after autoclaving are considered contaminated and not recommended for use. This study evaluates the maintenance of sterility in moist/wet material after being submitted to steam sterilization and stored for a period of 30 days. Aiming to support decision-making in emergency situations, 40 surgical boxes packed in nonwoven cloth covering Spunbound, Metblouwn, Spunbound (SMS): half (the experimental group) were placed in an autoclave but the drying phase was interrupted, yielding moist/wet materials and the other half (the negative control group) underwent the complete cycle. The external parts of each surgical box were deliberately contaminated with Serratia marcescens and subsequently stored for 30 days. After this period, the boxes' contents were submitted to sterility tests and no growth was observed. The presence of moisture inside the surgical boxes did not interfere with maintaining their sterility.

Background: Because of advances in technology, the number of orthopedic surgeries, mainly hip and knee replacement surgeries, has increased, with a total of 150,000 prosthetic surgeries estimated per year in the United States and 400,000 worldwide., Methods: We used an exploratory cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach to determine the microbial load in instruments used in orthopedic surgeries, quantifying and identifying the microbial growth genus and species, according to the surgical potential of contamination that characterizes the challenge faced by the Material and Sterilization Center at the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology of Hospital das Clinicas of the School of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.The orthopedic surgical instruments were immersed, after their use, in sterilized distilled water, sonicated in an ultrasonic washer, and posteriorly agitated. Subsequently, the wash was filtrated through a 0.45-mum membrane and incubated in aerobic and anaerobic mediums and in medium for fungi and yeasts., Results: In clean surgeries, 47% of the instruments were contaminated; in contaminated surgeries, 70%; and, in infected surgeries, 80%. Regardless of the contamination potential of the surgeries, the highest quantitative incidence of microorganism recovery was located in the 1 to 100 colony-forming unit range, and 13 samples presented a microbial growth potential >300 colony-forming units. Regardless of the contamination potential of the surgeries, there was a convergence in the incidence of negative-coagulase Staphylococcus growth (28%, clean surgeries; 32%, contaminated surgeries; and 29%, infected surgeries) and Staphylococcus aureus (28%, contaminated surgeries; and 43%, infected surgeries)., Conclusion: Most of the microorganisms recovered from the analyzed instruments (78%) were vegetative bacteria that presented their death curve at around 80 degrees C, characterizing a low challenge considering the processes of cleaning and sterilization currently employed by the Material and Sterilization Center. Fewer microorganisms were recovered from instruments used in clean surgeries in comparison with those used in contaminated and infected surgeries., (2010 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

In Brazil, single use diathermy pencils (SUDP) are among the most common reused devices. This study assesses the sterilization efficacy of reprocessing SUDP using two cleansing methods (manual or automated), followed by one of three of the low-temperature sterilization methods: Hydrogen Peroxide Plasma (HPP), Ethylene Oxide (ETO) or Low-Temperature Steam Formaldehyde (LTSF). The sample was composed of 360 SUDP after their first use. The probability of sterilization failure was estimated considering the number of positive microbiological results obtained by cultures of the studied devices. The overall sterilization failure probability for SUDP was 0.26. The sterilization method, which presented the lowest failure probability was the LTSF (0.01), followed by ETO (0.21) and HPP (0.56). Automated cleansing obtained a better result than manual cleansing. This trial demonstrated that the probability of sterilization in reprocessed SUDP is highly dependent on both the type of cleansing and the sterilization method applied.

It is estimated that electric drills (ED) have been used in orthopaedic surgeries for bone drilling for more than 50 years in Brazilian hospitals. It is an electric, thermosensitive equipment, not indicated for surgical use, which has not been previously evaluated regarding the sterilization efficacy, being suspect of infection risk. This study evaluated the efficacy of sterilization by ethylene oxide (EtO) of new drills that were intentionally contaminated with Bacillus atrophaeus spores. An experimental, laboratory, randomized applied research was developed, where 16 electric drills were analyzed, in addition to positive and negative controls. All the previously cleaned and sterilized equipment were submitted to contamination by spores. The experimental group was submitted to cleaning and sterilization by EtO and test of sterility by filtration through a 0.45 >m membrane. The membranes were cultivated and Gram and Wirtz-Conklin staining were carried out in positive results for spore visualization. An efficacy of 99.99999881% of the process of sterilization by EtO was confirmed, with a probability of survival of 1.19 x 10 (-8). Under the development conditions of the experiment, the efficacy of the sterilization of ED by EtO was confirmed.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of two different nursing interventions regarding control of body heat loss, using blankets during the intraoperative period of elderly patients., Methods: This was an experimental, comparative, applied, longitudinal prospective study with a quantitative approach. Eighty-one elderly patients undergoing elective surgery with a surgical time frame of at least one hour were selected by systematic probability sampling into two Experimental and one Control Group. Informed consent was obtained from participants. Data was collected by biophysiological measurement, using a tympanic thermometer., Results: After the homogeneity of variables - gender, surgical duration, age, BMR, anesthesia, room humidity and temperature, drugs and liquid infusion- had been demonstrated, the interventions were confronted. Incidence of hypothermia (59.3%) and body heat loss (E1=-0.6 degrees C , E2=-0.6 degrees C and C=-0.7 degrees C) were not significantly different between the groups (p=0.85 and p=0.7 respectively)., Conclusions: Results show the need for associated extra body warming methods to maintain normothermia.

The new low-temperature sterilization technologies are presented as an alternative to the use of ethylene oxide. This review was performed in order to identify evidences of the antimicrobial activity, toxicity, adverse events and the applicability of these technologies. The research was carried through the electronic databases MEDLINE and LILACS up to 2005. The authors analyzed 10 articles in this survey. The studies about the efficacy of these sterilization methods constitute experimental and comparative research that showed the influence of the extension and diameter of the lumen, besides the presence of crystal salts. Thus, choosing the correct equipment is essential, as well as the assurance of the cleansing of the devices, which interfere with the effectiveness of the low-temperature sterilization. These technologies present limitations regarding the sterilization of graft bone and affect the materials properties.

This study aimed to analyze the reprocessing costs of disposable forceps used in video-assisted surgery. The frequent reuse of these instruments is justified by their high cost. However, few studies have been carried out on this topic. The multiple case study method was applied in three hospitals in the State of São Paulo, using the observation and document analysis techniques. In case number one, the processing cost was R dollars 9.37, R dollars 6.59 for case number two and R dollars 3.31 for case number three. The low cost observed should be analyzed with caution, since it was observed that quality-control plays a role in the final cost. When the quality-control measures are adopted, the reprocessing costs jumped to R dollars 185.19 for case number one, R dollars 595.82 for case number two and to R dollars 363.10 for case number three.

The frequent reuse of disposable forceps instruments is justified by their high cost. However, few studies have been carried out on this topic. The objective of this study was to develop a methodological proposal for calculating the reprocessing costs for these instruments used in video-assisted surgery. A flowchart was developed for each phase of the reprocessing. This allowed subsequent identification of the cost components in terms of labor, materials and indirect expenses. From these data, a methodological proposal for cost calculation could be created, based on the Full Absorption Costing Method, including the spreadsheet for data collection.

A bibliographic research was carried out in the databases of LILACS, MEDLINE, SciELO and PubMed from 1978 to 2005 with the objective of identifying researches related to complications in the insulin application sites and in the discarded syringes reutilized by diabetic patients. The boolean expression "and" has been utilized in order to filter and to refine the descriptive and experimental works and the bibliographic revisions. The studies have been selected according to changes in the insulin application sites and in the discarded syringes that have been reutilized. The researches findings have been organized in a table according to the country of origin and to the type of study. 46,3% of the researches corresponded to data from the United States, 19,5% from England and 17% from Brazil.

In this study, we elaborated criteria to evaluate difficulties in cleaning single-use articles (SVA), which will be used for decision making about investments in the validation of reuse protocols. This methodological research was carried out at a University Hospital and aimed to: identify SVA used and reused at the institution; propose an instrument to measure risk levels of SVA for cleaning; classify SVA using 9 criteria established in the proposed instrument and evaluate its applicability. We identified 32 SVA, whose risks were classified using the colors used in traffic lights, with a view to supporting decision making about reuse. The proposed criteria make it possible to diagnose the risk of cleaning the SVA under analysis, as well as their implications for the safety of the sterilization process.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the profile of the students and the knowledge produced in theAdult Health Nursing Graduate Program (PROESA) of the Nursing College of the University of São Paulo (EEUSP). A documental, exploratory and descriptive study from 2000 to 2004 was conducted. Results identified that the students of the PROESA in the period analyzed were graduated at the EEUSP (46.5%), they had a long time as nursing practitioners and no previous experience in scientific research. It were concluded 43 academic production (2.4 production/ sponsor) and the principal area of investigation was "Technology in adult health". The research designs of most quantitative studies were classified as non-intervention with a high frequency of descriptive studies. The long time to accomplish the publication and the restricted assort of qualified journals in nursing areas were the most important identified factors to limit the publications of the academic production.

The study is about shoe cover and private shoe usage and aimed to find scientific evidence on their direct relation in the control of surgical site contamination and/or infection transmitted by floor microorganisms. A systematic review of basic research on shoe covers and private shoes usage was carried out, covering the period from 1950 to 2003, by means of a search in electronic sources, bibliographies of relevant studies and proceedings of scientific events. The analysis was supported by two researchers, both of whom were experienced in this theme and one of them in research methodology. The research methods revealed a diverse range and various problems. Only 4 studies obtained a dispersion of floor microorganisms to the air environment, although not significant, and none of them was directly related to surgical site contamination and/or infection. Results do not suggest direct evidence on their efficacy but there is evidence, nonetheless, that barrier and microorganisms transfer from one specific area to another depend on the type of shoe cover, with lower transfer rates when private shoes and shoe covers are employed. Occupational contamination risk during shoe cover attire and removal is also evident and the decision about continuity of their usage needs to be technically and administratively controlled.

The study has identified and described criteria adopted by the nurses in selecting and calculating quantities of surgical sutures to supply the Surgical Center, according to the public or private nature of the surgical centers. The data were collected using structured questionnaires in 74 hospitals within the municipality of São Paulo. The majority of hospitals are medium in size and privately owned with a general Operation Room and up to 500 surgical procedures performed per month. The procedures, the type and the variety of surgical sutures are related to the nature of hospital management. However, there are no criteria to select surgical sutures and their distribution in the operation rooms. The nurses participate on the procedures for purchasing, distribution and use of the surgical sutures.

The sterilizing activity of Parafolmaldehyde Tablets reproducing the conditions of use in the Brazilian health Institutions (without the heating, without increment of the relative humidity, in 0.5%, even for a long period of exhibition of 12 hours) was evaluated "in vitro" by microbiologic monitoring, according to the methodology of the AOAC, officially adopted by the Brazilian Health Ministry for registration of that category of products. The results of the experiments refuted the sterilizing action of Parafolmaldehyde Tablets in this conditions. Thus, it was evaluated the disinfectant action of the product using the vegetative bacteria by Use Dilution Method, preconized for AOAC and adapted for gaseous products, against the tests microorganisms standardized Staphylococcus aureus (ATCCn. 6538), Samonella choleraesuis (ATCCn. 10708) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC n. 15442). In these experiments, the results of the cultures showed 100% negative against all the tested bacteria inferring indications of disinfectant activity of high level action.

The descriptions of the part I of this study showed that Paraformaldehyde tablets in environmental conditions was used in a brazilian reality as the inadequate choosing way for most of the researched Institutions. This articles shows how this chemical agent is used outstanding problems as the lack of a theoretical base and process validation compromiting, this way, the safety of the sterilization. The "sterilization" conditions of most of the Institutions didn't include temperature, increment of the relative humidity and didn't make the adapted quantification of the tablets. It was observed that the researched Institutions don't have based parameters that guide the reutilization of a same group of Paraformaldehyde tablets in the sterilization processes. The use of Individual Protection Equipment is quite valued in handle of this chemical agent.

The sterilizing activity of reused Paraformaldehyde tablets was assessed by microbiologic monitoring according to the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) technic required in Brazil to register this class of sanitizing substances into the Health Ministry. Previous to the microbiologic tests, physical-chemscs assays were done through iodine titration according to the Society of Japanese Pharmacopoeia. It was possible, than, to draw a graphic showing a curve of the gaseous formaldehyde concentration discharged, at each sterilization cycle in relation to the number of reuse of the paraformaldehyde tablets. Through this graphic it was possible to chose the adequate moment to make the microbiologic analysis. After 12 cycles, the some group of the paraformaldehyde tablets kept the sterilizing activity at 3% concentration (3 g/100 cm3), at 50 degrees C, for 4 hours of exposition time with great relative humidity.

A national survey was accomplished next to 6907 health Institutions through a questionnaire to explore and to describe the use of Parafolmaldehyde Tablets as microbicide agent. There was a return of 443 (6.41%) correspondences which 253 (57.89%) affirmed to apply this chemical agent. Several articles of medical-hospitable use with indication to sterilization through autoclaves, are processed by Parafolmaldehyde Tablets in the researched Institutions, demonstrating inadequate criteria in choosing the process. Another detected inadequate use of Parafolmaldehyde Tablets was in the processing of articles with lumens and the density materials due to the low penetrability of the gas. The nurses' perception with reference to the perspectives of Parafolmaldehyde Tablets's use as sterilizing chemical agent, in environmental conditions is of disuse, pointing for a search of safer technologies.

This study comprises five different kind of venous central catheters, 103 in total, made of Polyurethane Tecoflex, Polyurethane Vialon, PTFE and PVC, and the influence of their raw material on the microbial colonization. Patients age and sex, besides their clinical conditions, were taken into account, and neither considered as a sample vicious, nor associated with colonization. When the tips of the catheters were asseptically inoculated in Tryptic Soy Broth and Tioglicolate, colonization was detected in 15.5% of the catheters. Coagulase negative Staphylococcus, some of which with biofilm, were the predominant organisms found, although some bacillus have also been detected: Enterobacter aerogenes, Hafnia alvei, Pseudomonas cepacia, Xanthomonas maltophilia and Aeromonas sobria. It was not possible to notice any association between the colonization of the catheters and their raw material, probably due to the influence of a previous contact and linking with blood components. This contact causes a thin coating on the surface of the cathether, which makes all the catheters similar in respect of the attachment of a bacterial cell. So, the colonization depends on the virulence of the organism, much more then on the nature of the catheter.

Although catheters have been widely used for a long time, there are doubts if the analytical methodology in current use is enough to evaluate them biologically. Catheters were submitted to the usual methodology, in addition to the accompaniment in their clinical use, observing the thrombophlebitis induction. It was not possible to associate the phlebitis incidence (3.9%) in relationship with the raw material nature (p = 0.255), neither with the kind of the catheter type (p = 0.468).

This article shows aspects of the hospitalized patient's psychosocial needs, pointing out how the knowledge of the patient's mental functions aids the nurse to identify disfunctions in this area. In the current structure of the Brazilian health system, which does not value the holistic vision of man, it is difficult for the nurse to give assistance to these aspects. This phenomenon is more subtle than biological aspects and, among other things, demands a lot of time and dedication from the nurse. To be attentive to the patient's psychosocial needs, represents an ethical aspect and the humanization in nursing assistance.

The nursing care is based on the nursing assessment. In the nurse's professional activity there aren't clarity and consensus about the clinical entities, problems or phenomenons that nurses intended to care. Difficulties in deciding what should be collected are determined by this indefinition, that it is also present in nursing graduate courses. In this article the authors discuss that the Nursing Diagnosis can be the framework for the nursing assessment.

Sporocidal activity of paraformaldehyde tablets was assessed by means of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists technic which is required in Brazil to register this class of sanitizing substances by the Health Ministery. According to this methodology paraformaldehyde showed sterilizing activity at the 3% (3.0 g/cm3) concentration in 3 hour exposure period at 50 degrees C in the presence of relative humidity.