High pressure steam sterilizer is a device that uses saturated pressure steam to quickly and reliably disinfect and sterilize items, suitable for medical and health, scientific research, agriculture and other units. High pressure steam sterilizers are divided into handheld high-pressure steam sterilizers, vertical high-pressure steam sterilizers, horizontal high-pressure steam sterilizers, etc. according to their styles and sizes. Can disinfect and sterilize medical devices, dressings, glassware, solution culture media, etc.

Below, the editor will briefly introduce the operating precautions of high-pressure steam sterilizers, as follows:

1. Preliminary treatment of disinfected items

Medical devices, sheets, clothing, etc. that have come into contact with pathogenic microorganisms should be disinfected with chemical disinfectants first, and then cleaned according to routine procedures. Especially for all kinds of items used in infectious disease wards, strict control should be exercised, with strict disinfection first, followed by cleaning and disinfection. During regular cleaning, soak and scrub the items with detergent solution to remove oil stains, blood stains, and other dirt, and then rinse them with running water. Instruments and other items with shaft joints, tooth slots, and gaps should be opened or disassembled as much as possible for washing in various positions. After washing, the items should be wiped dry and packaged according to clinical needs to avoid further contamination. Containers and transportation tools for items before and after pollution removal should be strictly distinguished to prevent cross infection.

2. The packaging and containers of disinfectant items should be suitable

The packaging is made of white cotton double-layer cloth, and the new cloth should be washed and desilted before use. The packaging of items should be tied with ropes to prevent loosening and scattering, and should not be too tight. When using containers for packaging, choose containers that can block the invasion of external microorganisms and have good steam penetration, such as specially designed syringe sterilization boxes, storage tanks for dressings, etc.

3. Disinfectant items should be stored reasonably

The items inside the disinfection pot should not be squeezed too much and should not exceed the capacity of the pot. Try to sterilize similar items in the same pot. If different types of items are packed together, the temperature and time required to sterilize the items should be taken as the standard. When placing items, they should be staggered in all directions, leaving gaps to allow steam to easily penetrate. The large disinfection bag should be placed upright on the upper layer, and the small bag should be placed on the lower layer. When sterilizing both cloth and metal items simultaneously, the metal item bag should be placed on the lower layer to ensure that the two are heated evenly and to prevent condensation water generated during metal item sterilization from wetting the cloth bag.

4. Exhaust the air completely

When using a high-pressure steam sterilizer, the key is to exhaust the air inside the pot. If there is air inside the pot, the pressure indicated by the pressure needle is not the pressure generated by saturated steam. At the same pressure, steam mixed with air has a temperature lower than that produced by saturated steam. Therefore, eliminating the air inside the pot and making it completely filled with water vapor is necessary for sterilization. The common method is to close the vent valve, turn on the power, and when the pressure rises to 0.05MPa, open the vent valve to release air. After the pressure gauge pointer returns to zero, close the vent valve. After closing the valve and energizing, when the pressure gauge rises to 0.1MPa, start timing and maintain the pressure for the specified time.

5. Reasonably calculate sterilization time

The sterilization time includes: penetration time, the time required from reaching the sterilization temperature inside the pot to reaching the temperature in difficult to reach areas inside the pot; The maintenance time, which is the time required to kill microorganisms, is generally expressed as the time required to kill the spores of thermophilic fat bacteria; The safe time, which is usually half of the heat death time required to ensure precise sterilization, depends on the duration of disinfection. Sterilization of easily thermally conductive metal equipment does not require a safe time. During the sterilization time, pay attention to observing the pressure gauge to maintain the specified pressure until the sterilization time. During the sterilization process, if there is a decrease in pressure or temperature, the temperature should be raised again and the timing should be restarted.

6. Opening the lid operation

After reaching the sterilization time, the power can be cut off. When the pressure drops to 0.05 MPa, steam can be slowly released. Be careful not to reduce the pressure too quickly, which may cause intense pressure boiling and overflow of the liquid in the container. When the pressure drops to zero, the lid can be opened, and the culture medium can be taken out and placed on the platform for condensation. Do not let the gas escape for a long time, otherwise it may cause changes in the composition of the culture medium and make it impossible to produce a sloping culture medium. If negative pressure is generated inside the boiler and the lid cannot be opened due to prolonged non venting, the venting valve can be opened to allow air to enter. After the internal and external pressures are balanced, the lid can be opened.

7. Operation after sterilization

Require disinfection items to be checked for indicators after drying, and can be taken out of the pot when sterilization requirements are met. When taking sterile items, strict aseptic procedures should be followed. When opening items, cover the lid first and close the ventilation holes in the storage tank. At the same time, it should be classified and placed, and distributed and retrieved in order.

8. Prevent overheating steam.

Although the temperature of superheated steam is high, like air, it cannot condense into water or release latent heat when encountering disinfectants, which is not conducive to sterilization. The method to prevent overheating is to use an external steam sterilizer, so that the temperature of the interlayer is not higher than the temperature of the disinfection room, and the two should be similar. Do not let high-pressure steam enter the disinfection room; Do not use high-pressure steam to heat to the required temperature before reducing to normal pressure during sterilization.

9. Items that do not deteriorate after high-pressure sterilization

Sterile water, cultivation media, and inoculation equipment can prolong sterilization time or increase pressure. The culture medium must strictly adhere to the pressure holding time, which should not only maintain the pressure but also prevent the components in the culture medium from deteriorating or reducing their effectiveness, and the time cannot be arbitrarily extended.

10. Other

1) When liquids containing salt leak or overflow, they must be wiped clean in a timely manner, and the sealing ring along the lid must be wiped dry, otherwise it will corrode the container and pipeline.

2) Do not use instruments near explosive gases.