Study of the sterility maintenance during the storage of cotton cloth wrapped medical instruments after a sterilization cycle performed with a mobile autoclave commonly used in rural areas in developing countries

Summary The “All American” is a mobile autoclave commonly used in developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sterility of cotton cloth wrapped instruments up to 7 days of storage. For this purpose, 3 “All American” sterilization cycles were conducted, one cycle weekly during a period of three weeks. Each cycle contained 5 sets composed of three clamps, wrapped in cotton cloth. Sterility maintenance was tested at J1, J2, J3, J4 and J7. The sets were stored in a heating chamber in order to reproduce the storage conditions of tropical climates. Bacteriological and mycological analyses were carried out on the outside and inside of the cotton, as well as on the clamps of each set. Although residual humidity rates up to 12% were recorded on cotton sets after cycles, we did not report bacterial or fungal growth, nor inside the cotton wraps, neither onto the clamps. These results are encouraging, but should be confirmed by increasing repeatability of sterilization cycle and by varying several parameters influencing dryness and sterility to test reproducibility.