Microbial growth in surrogate surgical instruments processed and used in surgical procedures

Liliana Dorador-Ledezma, Servicio de Sanidad Naval, Centro Médico Naval, Secretaría de Marina, Ciudad de México, México
Rosalinda Enríquez-Ramírez, Servicio de Sanidad Naval, Centro Médico Naval, Secretaría de Marina, Ciudad de México, México
Daniel Tejada-Quiroz, Servicio de Sanidad Naval, Centro Médico Naval, Secretaría de Marina, Ciudad de México, México

Introduction: Sterilization processes of surgical material are more rigorous nowadays, but cases of microbial development in these instruments continue to be recorded, representing a risk of postoperative infection. Surgical nurses should corroborate the presence of microbial growth in surgical instruments, especially in surrogate instruments, to protect the patient’s health and safety. Objective: To determine if there is microbial growth in the critical points of the subrogated instruments, processed and used in surgical procedures. Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study. The sample consisted of 130 surgical instruments subrogated in the year 2023 in a hospital in Mexico City. The culture for microbial development was performed with brain-heart infusion, a substance approved by Mexican law to determine pathogenic microorganisms. Results: Tests for microbial growth were negative in 100% of the cases. Therefore, no microbial growth was identified in the critical points of the surrogate surgical instruments. In other studies, microbial growth in surgical instruments was also practically null, which highlights the importance of sterilization control and monitoring to prevent instrument contamination. Conclusions: The results obtained suggest that the hospital and surrogate companies follow adequate sterilization processes because no microbial development was found in the critical points of surgical instruments. For surgical nursing staff, they show the importance of performing periodic evaluations of the sterility of surrogate surgical instruments to prevent postoperative infections.

Keywords: Biofilm. Surgical instruments. Sterilization. Asepsis.