Sterilizing Catheters Microwave

Do not use a microwave oven to sterilize urinary catheters.

Sterilizing catheters microwave.

A standard household 650 w microwave oven was used to sterilize polyethylene catheters of the type used for intermittent self catheterization. Microwaves are used in medicine for disinfection of soft contact lenses dental instruments dentures milk and urinary catheters for intermittent self cat. Adequacy of sanitization and storage of catheters for intermittent use after washing and microwave sterilization. Researchers found that test bacteria e g e.

Microwaves used for sterilization of medical devices have not been fda cleared. Of our patients almost 75 reported using a microwave oven for sterilization and the majority used 4 to 5 catheters daily. The catheters were infected with proteus sp. A home microwave oven may be used as a method to sterilize red rubber catheters for reuse with a recommended time of twelve minutes at full power.

Alcohol is the best way to sterilize catheters. Bleach and betadine solutions may be just as safe but there has not been research done on these solutions. However now the microwave oven is almost as common as the stove in most kitchens with at least 1 microwave oven in 83 of households 18 making it a convenient and practical method of catheter sterilization for many patients. Cdc disinfection sterilization guideline steril methods hicpac microwave.

Sterilizing without an autoclave biology minute duration. Coli klebsiella pneumoniae candida albicans were eliminated from red rubber catheters within 5 minutes 931. The use of microwave ovens to disinfect intermittent use catheters also has been suggested. Red rubber urinary catheters were inoculated with common clinical uropathogens and were placed in sealed brown paper bags or ziploc plastic freezer bags and microwaved at full power for various timed intervals.

Microwaving red rubber catheters for two minutes is a very simple effective and economic way of sterilizing catheters for patients on intermittent self catheterizations madduri said. Sterilize catheters at home no special equipment required. A water heat sink of constant volume was employed. Bacteria and microwaved at 650 w for periods of 2 4 6 and 8 minutes.

The effect of microwaving was assessed by determining the resultant colony counts. Repeat sterilization in the microwave oven did not affect the integrity of the catheters or the plastic bags.