Impact of Overloading on the Efficacy of Low-Temperature Hydrogen Peroxide gas Plasma Sterilizer

OBJECTIVE  To investigate the impact of overweight loading on the sterilization effect of low-temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizers, and to provide a reference for medical institutions to standardize the use of this equipment.

METHODS  The STERRAD 100NX and 100S low-temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizers were used to evaluate the impact of loading weight on sterilization temperature, hydrogen peroxide gas concentration and sterilization monitoring under different sterilization cycle conditions.

RESULTS  Under the experimental conditions of this study, overweight loading led to a decrease in the lowest temperature within the cabin by 0.60−5.10 ℃, and the minimum cumulative effective dose of hydrogen peroxide decreased by 33. 28%−54.24%. Under the experimental overweight loading conditions, the Express cycle of the 100NX sterilizer, as well as the short and long cycles of the 100S sterilizer, exhibited a significant increase in failures in both biological monitoring （pass rate: 50.00%−87.50%） and chemical monitoring （pass rate: 35.00%−95.83%）.

CONCLUSIONS  Medical institutions must strictly control the loading capacity of low-temperature hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizers to avoid overweight loading, ensuring the stability and reliability of sterilization effect.