Sterilization techniques in public health institutions

Conclusions

1. The following methods of sterilization will be in use in health centers for a long time to come: steam under pressure, hot air, and gaseous mixture.

2. For this purpose health centers will make use of steam, hot-air, and gas sterilizers. These sterilizers must be improved in order to increase productivity, to improve reliability, and to effect further mechanization and automation of the principal and accessory processes.

3. To increase the introduction of gaseous sterilizers into medical practice it will be important to solve problems concerning the supply of suitable gaseous mixtures, neutralization of these mixtures on evacuating them from the sterilizers, and the prevention of toxic effects caused by handling sterilizing equipment.

4. The limitations of boiling as a means of sterilizing means that there is a need to produce portable steam and hot-air sterilizers having a working space of 10–20 liters.

5. The formation of TsSO's makes it essential for highly productive specialized sterilizations to be provided, and for problems of transport and storage of sterilizing materials to be solved.